UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | INCHEON, August 13, 2026 — Incheon Metropolitan City Mayor Park Chan-dae met with Chinese Ambassador to Korea Dai Bing at Incheon City Hall on August 13 to discuss ways to strengthen friendly relations between Korea and China and to expand exchanges and cooperation between Incheon and China across a range of fields.
Both sides reaffirmed the importance of friendship and cooperation between the two nations and agreed to further invigorate local government exchanges to advance practical collaboration in the areas of economy, culture, people-to-people ties, and future industries.
Incheon as a Historic Gateway
Mayor Park opened the discussion by highlighting Incheon's unique geographic and historical significance in the bilateral relationship. "Incheon faces the Shandong Peninsula across the Yellow Sea and serves as the starting point and gateway for ties between Korea and China, where the Korean Chinese community first took root and the oldest Chinatown in Korea is located," he said.
He went on to note that human and material exchanges between the two countries have continued to deepen over time, and that practical cooperation — spanning the economy, culture, the environment, and emerging industries — will only grow more important in the years ahead.
Mayor Park pledged to devote his full efforts during his term in office to expanding future-oriented exchanges between Incheon and China, describing such engagement as essential to supporting the broader friendly development of Korea-China relations. He also expressed his hope to meet regularly with Ambassador Dai to continue bilateral discussions.
Ambassador Dai Welcomes Incheon's Role
Ambassador Dai Bing congratulated Mayor Park on his inauguration and praised Incheon's track record of local government-level engagement with China. "The Incheon Metropolitan City has consistently expanded exchanges and cooperation with China at the local government level, and these efforts have greatly contributed to promoting mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of both countries," he said.
Ambassador Dai expressed his expectation that Incheon would continue to serve as a pivotal hub for local government exchanges between Korea and China, and encouraged the city to take an active role in promoting bilateral cooperation going forward.
A Foundation of Sustained Engagement
The meeting built on an established foundation of cooperation between Incheon City and the Chinese Embassy in Korea. Since 2019, the two sides have jointly hosted the "In China Forum," which has grown into a leading domestic platform in Korea for knowledge exchange, networking, and business engagement between Korean and Chinese participants.
The discussions on August 13 are expected to lend fresh impetus to this cooperation as both sides look to broaden the scope of local government diplomacy between Korea and China in the period ahead.
