During his state visit to China, President Lee Jae-myung pointed to the game industry—within the broader cultural content sector—as a new breakthrough for Korea–China economic cooperation. The economic delegation accompanying the trip included Changhan Kim, CEO of Krafton, representing Korea’s game industry. It was also reported that Kim met face-to-face with senior executives from Tencent, China’s largest game company, to discuss ways to invigorate bilateral exchanges.

On the morning of the 5th, President Lee attended the Korea–China Business Forum and a pre-forum meeting with major business leaders held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, where he outlined the direction of economic cooperation between the two countries. The gathering included leading conglomerate heads such as Tae-won Choi, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Jae-yong Lee, Chairman of Samsung Electronics. Changhan Kim, CEO of Krafton, also attended in his capacity as a representative of the game industry.

At the pre-forum meeting, President Lee called for a new approach that goes beyond past manufacturing-centered cooperation, saying, “Consumer goods like household products, beauty and food, as well as cultural content such as film, music, ‘games,’ and sports, will become a new breakthrough.” This was interpreted as a signal of his intent to upgrade the structure of bilateral cooperation by combining service and content-based soft power atop the foundation of manufacturing.

Tencent Vice Chairman Liu Yong also attended the meeting and forum on the Chinese side and met with Korean business leaders. Tencent is Krafton’s second-largest shareholder and a long-standing strategic partner, and the meeting between the two companies’ leadership was seen as more than routine corporate interaction—symbolically underscoring the firm cooperative ties between the Korean and Chinese game industries.

Kim Changhan was also reported to have attended the state banquet hosted by the president, in addition to the pre-forum meeting. Throughout the visit, Kim reportedly maintained that he would do his part in the game sector to help build the horizontal cooperative relationship between Korea and China that President Lee emphasized, and the two sides were said to have held in-depth discussions on the need to revitalize exchanges of game content between the countries.

The Korea–China Business Forum was held for the first time in nine years as a Korea–China business leaders’ event, drawing roughly 600 economic figures in total, including 161 companies from the Korean side and about 200 participants from the Chinese side. Representing the Chinese government, Vice Premier He Lifeng—who oversees economic affairs—attended and encouraged both countries’ companies to identify cooperation potential.

The government expects the trip to yield tangible outcomes, including expanding exports to China in services and cultural sectors—games included—and easing related regulations.

This article was translated from the original that appeared on INVEN.