The 9th China (Guangdong) – ROK Development and Exchange Conference, co-hosted by the Guangdong Provincial People's Government and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea (ROK), was held in Seoul in June.

The conference focused on the topic of "Strengthening Cooperation in New Energy and Smart Manufacturing". Huang Ningsheng, deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress; Yang Byeong-nae, deputy minister for Trade of ROK's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy; Xing Haiming, China's ambassador to the ROK; and Cho Sang-hyun, head of the Institute for International Trade at Korea International Trade Association, all delivered speeches at the conference.

Approximately 200 representatives from governments, enterprises and related institutions attended the event. Several cooperation agreements were signed during the event, which also featured a Guangdong-ROK business matchmaking session and an investment promotion conference for the China-ROK (Huizhou) Industrial Park.