Korea sees narrowing trade deficit with China, but risks remain
gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-minKorea will no longer be able to register a significant trade surplus with China, reoriented by rapid high-tech advancements in the world’s second-largest economy with diminished needs to import Korea’s intermediate goods, market watchers said Monday. Semiconductor products, including intermediate goods, account for about a third of Korea’s export total to China.Experts say elevated geopolitical tensions pose risks similar to export curbs to the export-oriented Korean economy amid the drawn-out U.S.-China feud.According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korea's exports logged $57 billion (78.7 trillion won) in June. The year-on-year increase of 5.1 percent was a nine consecutive month of surplus underpinned by semiconductor exports exceeding $13.4 billion.Solidifying the GDP-bolstering growth was the artificial intelligence (AI) boom pushing up the global chip demand.Korea’s trade deficit with China came to $5.43 billion in the first six months, less than half of $13.13 billion in deficit a year earlier.It was as
