South Korea's industry ministry said on Mar. 28, 2019 an agreement has been reached with its Chinese counterpart to work together on reducing their dependency on coal-based power plants and seek more environmentally-friendly energy sources that can help reduce fine dust.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Sung Yun-mo met high-ranking Chinese governmental officials, including Zhang Jianhua, the head of the National Energy Administration, and Zhang Mao from the State Administration for Market Regulation during his visit to Beijing.
During the meeting with China's energy administration, the two sides agreed to expand exchanges among their coal-based power plants to reduce the emission of fine dust, which has recently emerged as a major health concern for South Koreans.
Fine dust particles are likely to penetrate deeper into the lungs than other pollutants, while ultrafine particles can be absorbed directly into the blood stream, posing serious health risks.
South Korea and China agreed to kick off a regular joint technology forum that will discuss ways to reduce the emission of fine dust and greenhouse gas, the ministry said.
The two also agreed to sign a joint development agreement on establishing a power grid system in the region in the near future.
The grid is expected to stretch around 374 kilometers from China's Weihai to the eastern region of the Seoul metropolitan area. The size of the project is estimated at around 2.9 trillion won (US$2.5 billion) to 3.3 trillion won.
During the meeting with the market regulation authority, South Korea and China agreed to expand ties in the certification and standardization of electronics.
Sung expressed hope that the two countries will cooperate further in the hydrogen fuel cell automobile industry and pave the way for South Korean firms to set eyes on Asia's No. 1 economy.
Zhang claimed that China is interested in South Korea's hydrogen automobile industry and understands the importance of environment-friendly energy sources.
The South Korea policymaker asked China to take a reasonable approach in its antitrust investigation on South Korean chips, with Zhang responding that related issues will be handled in a transparent manner. (Yonhap)