China Pilot Free Trade Zone is a "policy practice zone," and China has already established 18 pilot FTZs since the approval of Shanghai Pilot FTZ in Sept. 2013. Pilot FTZs have become high grounds for Chinese economic reform through 'optimization of business environment', 'facilitation of investment & trade', and 'policy innovation in various fields such as financial services and real economy.' Construction of pilot FTZ has aggressively extended national strategies such as active service, construction of "One Belt, One Road" Initiative, cooperative development of Jingjinji Metropolitan region (Beijin-Tianjin-Hebei), integrated development of Yangtze River Delta Economic Zone, and revitalization of northeast China, etc. as well as collaboration with surrounding nations. Recent entry of new stage of China-Korea relations has great potential of complementary cooperation. As a "policy practice zone" of Chinese economic reform, Pilot FTZs have arranged business environment facilitated with legislation and internationalization, regulation system suitable for international trade-investment rules, and open financial environment through system innovation & reform in various fields such as investment, trade, and finance, etc. This is giving a new motivation for higher level and broadened area of China-Korea economic relations.

In the process of China’s modernization of social and economic development, China has gradually expanded the scope of foreign trade, especially the deepening of economic and trade cooperation with South Korea, and the steady growth of bilateral trade and investment. However, during this period, it will be affected by internal and external factors, leading to the increasing trade deficit between China and South Korea. The frequent occurrence of trade friction has caused a serious impact on the economic and trade development of China and South Korea. Therefore, in the actual work, it is necessary to respond flexibly to the challenges, meet the opportunities and adopt scientific countermeasures according to the development status of Sino-South Korea economic and trade cooperation, so as to promote the continuous progress of the two countries’ economic and trade.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea for decades, the trade relations between the two countries have been developing towards a positive trend. Especially in recent years, for South Korea, China has become its largest trading partner, largest source of imports, and largest export destination. In contrast, for China, South Korea has also become an extremely important trading partner of China on a global scale. It can be seen that the development of China-South Korea economic and trade cooperation is an indispensable key force in the foreign trade of China and South Korea. In view of this, this article focuses on China-Korea economic and trade cooperation, discusses the development practice of China-Korea economic and trade cooperation, analyzes the opportunities and challenges in detail based on the current situation, and puts forward some countermeasures for reference only.