China, DPRK co-op economic zones seek investment

CHANGCHUN -- Two economic zones operated by China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have started to seek investment, according to an investment briefing conference held on Friday in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin province.

The Rason Economic and Trade Zone and Hwanggumphyong and Wihwa Islands Economic Zone in the DPRK are now in an essential stage of development, according to remarks made at the conference.

The conference was held at the ongoing eighth Northeast Asia Investment and Trade Expo, which opened Thursday in Changchun.

"It is a common aspiration of China and the DPRK to boost the development of the cooperative economic zones. Both countries are looking forward to investment from ambitious enterprises," said Song Yaoming, deputy director of the Asian Affairs Department of the Ministry of Commerce.

Top leaders from China and the DPRK agreed to jointly develop the zones in May 2010.

China and the DPRK are now in negotiations regarding tax relief and visa-free systems in the economic zones. Trade fairs have been launched among eight DPRK enterprises and dozens of Chinese companies following the conference.

The two sides will continue to follow the principle of "government-guided, enterprise-based, market-oriented and mutually beneficial" cooperation in developing the economic zones, said Zhang Anshun, Communist Party of China chief of the Yanbian Korean autonomous prefecture in Jilin.

Investment in the zones will have significant implications for economic development in both countries, as well as regional prosperity, Zhang added.

The Rason Economic and Trade Zone is in the city of Rason in the northeast DPRK, adjacent to Yanbian prefecture in Jilin.

The Hwanggumphyong and Wihwa Islands Economic Zone is near the estuary of the Yalu River, a border river that runs between the two countries.