Weihai and Incheon named as priority cities for Sino-S.Korea 'Digital Silk Road'

China's eastern port city of Weihai and South Korea's western port city of Incheon have been chosen as priority cooperative cities to establish the "Sino-S.Korea Digital Silk Road" aimed at cementing cooperation in the information-communications field between the nations.

The cities will sign a memorandum of understanding to that effect at the 14th Sino-S.Korea economic ministerial meeting set for May 27 in Seoul.

Named after the Silk Road, the ancient trade and cultural route connecting Asia and Europe, the project was created to mutually recognize rules in the electronic commerce sector, establish an information and communications network, and activate information exchanges.

Earlier in the day, visiting Weihai Mayor and Incheon Mayor discussed ways to activate electronic commerce and to expand the trade of small companies' products between the cities.

As pilot cooperative cities for the Sino-S.Korea free trade agreement, (Weihai and Incheon) will aggressively push for not only electronic commerce projects but information-communications technology ones as well.

Weihai in the Shandong province and Incheon, west of Seoul, have maintained cooperative ties since they opened the first Sino-S.Korea ferry route in 1990, even two years before the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.