South Korea has voiced confidence in China’s economic outlook
South Korea has voiced confidence in China’seconomic outlook, with the new finance minister saying he does not expect any seriousadverse impact on his country, which depends heavily on Chinese trade.
Yoo Il-ho’s comments come as the world awaits China’s official 2015 economic growth figureson Tuesday, amid jitters about the extent of the country’s slowdown.
“We would all agree that the Chinese economy is in the process of slowing down,” Mr Yoo, whotook office this month having served as a lawmaker for the ruling New Frontier party, told theFinancial Times. But he endorsed Beijing’s predictions of a “soft landing”, saying Seoul expectedChina’s economy to grow between 6 per cent and 7 per cent this year.
Last year, South Korea’s sales to China fell 5.6 per cent, dragging on national growth, aftersurging for years to about a quarter of total exports. Hyundai Motor suffered a drop in sales asChina’s car market slowed, while steelmaker Posco had its first annual loss amid falling activityfrom China’s construction market.
Mr Yoo said South Korea was trying to develop other export markets to compensate for theslump in Chinese demand. But he added: “We believe the fundamentals of the Chinese economyare quite stable. If you look at China’s balance of trade, there is a very healthy surplus...do not believe there is a severe risk for the Korean economy.”