South Korea is welcoming the first cruise from China heading to Jeju Island after a six-year hiatus. However, Chinese analysts have a cautiously optimistic view about the sector s prospects, as the load factor is lower than expected amid political uncertainties in bilateral relations.
Editor's note: The world has undergone many changes and shocks in recent years. Enhanced dialogue between scholars from China and overseas is needed to build mutual understanding on many problems the world faces. For this purpose, the China Watch Institute of China Daily and the National Institute for Global Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, jointly present this special column: The Global Strategy Dialogue, in which experts from China and abroad will offer insightful views, analysis and fresh perspectives on long-term strategic issues of global importance.
The Chinese economy is seen as having the most optimistic outlook in 2023, a year filled with recession worries, a survey among over 270 senior executives in China, Japan, and South Korea showed.
A ministerial meeting for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) kicked off on Thursday with representatives from the US and 13 other countries gathering to discuss the scope of planned negotiations. However, observers said that without touching on core issues that member states care about or bringing concrete benefits to them, the IPEF will not go far, and such a geopolitical tool disguised as economic cooperation is of little use in helping solve global challenges, especially inflation and the energy crisis.
As Japan and South Korea pursue different paths in supply chain cooperation with China, with one drifting toward weaponizing trade, while the other is trying to keep it on a business-to-business basis, Chinese analysts said the different approaches may have an impact on trade and possibly result in South Korea overtaking Japan as China s fourth-largest trading partner, a position Japan has held for years.