한은 '대중국 수출 3년만에 15%↓…"글로벌 가치사슬 약화"

The nation's outbound shipments to China has been nose diving in recent years.
Shrinking investment and consumption of manufactured goods in Beijing are seen as the main driving factors.
Koh Roon-hee provides an in-depth analysis of this unwelcome phenomenon.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, South Korea's exports to China saw relatively strong growth rates, with exports to China growing at a faster rate than South Korea's exports to the rest of the world.

However, exports in 2016 dropped sharply by 9-point-3 percent on year…and fell 14-point-7 percent compared to 2013....despite both economies experiencing solid GDP growth.

To explain this downward trend, an economist at the Bank of Korea released a report on Monday.
Choi Moon-jung attributed the fall to a decrease in overall investment by China from 2013 to 2016.
This means China imported less South Korean intermediary goods and capital goods ...which are used to make final products.

Another main reason is that Chinese consumers are moving away from manufactured goods, preferring to spend money on services instead.
Because consumption decreased in the world's largest manufacturing market from 2013 to 2015, this directly impacted South Korea exporters... who ship intermediate goods to China.
The report suggested that South Korea should strengthen service-sector trade ties with China.
Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News.