The 2nd China-South Korea CEO and Former Senior Officials’ Dialogue, co-organized by the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE) and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was held in Seoul, South Korea on December 5. Zhu Qingfeng, deputy CEO of China Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Group (CECEP), was invited to attend the event as a representative of Chinese entrepreneurs.

CCIEE Chairman Zeng Peiyan and former Speaker of South Korea’s National Assembly Chung Sye-kyun, as well as more than 30 entrepreneurs, former senior officials and think tank experts from China and South Korea, attended the event. Both sides exchanged views on topics such as the situation of the world economy and how China and South Korea collaborate to address global issues including unilateralism and protectionism, deepen bilateral economic and trade cooperation and broaden multilateral and regional cooperation.

At the event, Zhu expounded on the trends and huge space for development of China’s energy conservation and environmental protection industry, and introduced the business development of CECEP and the progress it has made in advancing major national strategic projects such as the comprehensive protection of the Yangtze River. He pointed out that strengthening cooperation of environmental protection enterprises to promote China’s ecological progress should be a key component of economic and trade cooperation between Chinese and South Korean enterprises under the framework of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). He hopes that the RCEP will create greater space for Chinese energy conservation and environmental protection enterprises to cooperate with their South Korean counterparts, thus serving China’s ecological progress and battle against pollution, jointly exploring third-party markets, and supporting the construction of the “Green Belt and Road.” 

The China-South Korea CEO and Former Senior Officials’ Dialogue aims to consolidate consensus and strengthen mutual political trust, provide a platform for communication between Chinese and South Korean entrepreneurs, former senior officials and think tank scholars, and promote the building of a sound, stable and sustained China-South Korea relationship. It has become an alternative communication mechanism apart from intergovernmental exchange between China and South Korea.