A government-funded economic research institute has forecast that South Korea’s sliding exports to China will have difficulty recovering within a short period of time.
 
The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy issued the projection on Thursday in a report that reviewed China’s economic management plans for this year.
 
The report said that due to a slump in China’s domestic demand and exports, the slowdown in South Korea’s exports to China will unlikely recover in the short term.
 
The report stressed the need for South Korea to, in the short-run, maintain its market share in China using the bilateral free trade agreement. The report said that in the mid- to long-term, South Korea must build its ability to supply in line with changes in demand.
 
During the fourth session of the 12th National People's Congress that kicked off on March fifth, China decided to set the target of this year’s economic growth rate between six-and-a-half and seven percent. That’s the lowest projection to be issued in 25 years.
 
At the session which ended Wednesday, China concluded its "13th Five-Year Plan" for the 2016 to 2020 period and decided to maintain its economic growth target of over six-and-a-half percent.