축구로 뭉친 민심과 경제로 잇는 신뢰: 장쑤성이 보여주는 중국의 두 얼굴 > K-wave Trends

The 'Suqiao League', in which 13 cities in Jiangsu Province participate, has gone beyond a simple sporting event and has established itself as a powerful cultural platform that unites local identity. Each city drew explosive sympathy from citizens by projecting its historical background, specialties, and even proud rivalries into soccer. In particular, storytelling such as the hometown battle between Xiang Yu and Liu Bang, or the 'Zhao Tea Derby' based on local breakfast culture, maximized the viral effect through social media. This phenomenon not only instills a sense of solidarity among local residents, but also creates practical economic effects by revitalizing local consumption and tourism, serving as a new growth engine for China's domestic market.

Meanwhile, Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province, is showing pragmatic diplomacy as hot as the enthusiasm of amateur soccer. At a time when Korea-China relations were frozen due to the THAAD deployment issue, Yancheng City Party Secretary Wang Rongping made an unusual visit to Korea and met in person with executives of major domestic companies such as Hyundai Motor Group and LG Display. This was not simply a courtesy visit, but a political message to show off to the public that the economic symbiosis between the two sides is still strong as the area where the Kia Motors factory, which is the core of Yancheng City's economy, is located. Through this high-level communication, Yancheng City attempted to resolve local uncertainties experienced by Korean companies and repeatedly emphasize that there was no problem with the investment environment.

Yancheng City’s attitude toward Hyundai Motor Group was very strategic and specific. Yancheng City Party Secretary visited the headquarters of Hyundai Motor Group and discussed with management the future automobile industry and development plans for the joint venture 'Dongfeng Yueda Kia', taking extensive steps to expand the scope of cooperation to include construction and logistics. Yancheng City emphasized that it provides business-friendly settlement conditions beyond simple automobile production, such as operating an industrial park exclusively for Korean companies, and sought to prove through practical policy support why Hyundai Motor Company's production base should continue to remain in Yancheng. This was an essential choice for both sides to break through the THAAD crisis, considering that a significant portion of Hyundai vehicles produced in China come from the Yancheng plant.

These changes occurring within Jiangsu Province clearly show how flexible and realistic Chinese local governments are using strategies for local economic survival, independent of the central government's diplomatic stance. Stimulating the public's emotions and promoting domestic consumption through the Suqiao League, while presenting unconventional support measures to retain overseas blue-chip companies, as Yancheng City has done, represents the Chinese economy's dual mode of survival. In particular, seeing a company's production base not just as a physical factory but as the economic foundation of the city, and seeing a party secretary-level official step up as a salesman to protect this suggests a new perspective for Korean companies to look at the Chinese market.