The 2025 China-Japan-South Korea Economic Seminar and Sister Cities Roundtable is held on June 17, in Wuhan, Hubei’s capital city. (Photo: Ren Yong/ Hubei Daily)
Hubei has achieved fruitful results in economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation with Japan and South Korea, according to the 2025 China-Japan-South Korea Economic Seminar and Sister Cities Roundtable which was held on June 17, in Wuhan, Hubei’s capital city.
At the event, an official from the Department of Commerce of Hubei Province introduced that the Wuhan-Osaka-Busan river-sea intermodal route and the Ezhou Huahu-Incheon international air cargo route have facilitated trade cooperation among China, Japan, and South Korea, adding that Japan and South Korea were Hubei’s third and seventh largest trading partners in 2024.
During this year’s May Day holiday, South Korea emerged as one of the top 10 sources of inbound tourists to Hubei. Meanwhile, Hubei has sent off a delegation to Japan to kick off the "Hubei Week" at the undergone Expo 2025 Osaka.
Hubei’s robust industrial base has attracted leading Japanese and South Korean companies such as Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Marubeni, Aeon, Itochu, Sumitomo, SKGC, and LG to establish operations. In the new era, Hubei is becoming an ideal destination for Japanese and South Korean entrepreneurs to expand investments and realize their ambitions.
In 2024, Hubei’s total retail sales of consumer goods reached 2.53 trillion yuan, with contribution from Aeon Mall, Lawson, and Sinopec-SK (Wuhan) Petrochemical.
With three free trade zones, five cross-border e-commerce pilot areas, seven open ports, and six comprehensive bonded zones, Hubei has built an array of international cooperation platforms, such as the China-Japan Automotive Industry Matchmaking Conference and the Hubei-South Korea Future Cooperation Exchange Forum.
Wuhan is now home to over 300 Japanese-invested enterprises collaborating with local firms in the automotive supply chain. Xiaogan has built a Japanese industrial park, attracting 35 companies and becoming the most influential hub for Japanese investment in central China.
Besides economic ties, Hubei has attached great significance to sister-city relations with Japan and South Korea. Since establishing its first pair of sister-city relationship in 1979, the province has forged five sister-city ties with Japan and nine with South Korea. (en.hubei.gov.cn by Ruan Xinqi)