Zhang Yang

    nicolezyyy@163.com

    OVER 20 Shenzhen entrepreneurs visited Seoul in South Korea and shared business experiences with South Korean counterparts during an exchange tour that lasts from Tuesday to Friday.

    They were members of a delegation of nearly 200 Guangdong-based entrepreneurs led by the provincial government, according to a press release from the tour’s co-organizer Shenzhen Foundation for International Exchange and Cooperation.

    A range of events, including a startup exchange activity and dinner party, were held during the four-day tour.

    The Shenzhen-based Yin-sheng Financial Group’s board chairman, Lin Zhongcheng, said China and South Korea could strengthen cooperation in cross-border payment and e-commerce businesses during a speech at a Tuesday meeting.

    He said several South Korean companies have shown willingness to establish partnership with his company, without giving details.

    Xu Xinhua, chairman of another Shenzhen-based e-commerce company Bestek, said cross-border e-commerce is a powerful tool for traditional enterprises to upgrade their business patterns and products, and his company is looking for e-commerce allies in South Korea.

    Li Dongsheng, chairman of the Shenzhen-based electronics manufacturer TCL, said the company has been expanding overseas business by establishing joint ventures with foreign enterprises over recent years. TCL would ink deals with two South Korean companies during the tour, according to him.

    Li said it is difficult for an enterprise to go through transition, and it gets harder if the enterprise has a long history because transition may reshape the enterprise’s core concept and system. He said the enterprise’s leadership could consider rearranging the staff structure by bringing in professional talents during the transition period.

    It’s the second time that the Shenzhen Foundation for International Exchange and Cooperation organized overseas exchange tours for Shenzhen entrepreneurs.

    A delegation consisting of Shenzhen entrepreneurs and eco-protection activists visited Brisbane, Australia, in July last year when the 10th Asia-Pacific Cities Summit was held.

    China and South Korea have witnessed rapid development of their relationship since the two countries forged diplomatic ties in 1992.

    Trade between the two countries surpassed US$270 billion in 2013, equaling South Korea’s trade volume with the United States and Japan combined. The figure reached US$300 billion last year.

    China has become South Korea’s No. 1 trading partner, largest export destination and import source, and No. 1 destination of overseas investment. South Korea is China’s third-largest trading partner and largest source of foreign direct investment based on 2015 data.