China's policy change not to affect S. Korea much: report

SEOUL, March 16 (Yonhap) -- China's recent shift in its economic growth policy for the next five years is unlikely to have much impact on the South Korean economy, a report said Wednesday.
Earlier this month, Beijing said it plans to maintain its annual economic growth target of 7 percent between 2011 and 2015, a move that many experts viewed as designed to boost domestic consumption and reduce dependency on exports and state projects.
"The significance of the economic growth target of 7 percent is expected to be small," said the report by the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), noting that China's economic growth rates in the past have not always moved according to its planned growth rate.
The fact that Beijing maintained its annual growth target for this year at 8 percent will soften the aftereffects of the policy change, the report added.
The shift in growth policy, however, may trigger a decline in the size of China's trade and subsequently hurt South Korea's exports to the country, it said.
South Korea's dependence on China has been growing, with its exports to the neighboring country accounting for nearly a quarter of its total overseas shipments. Last year, South Korean exports to China amounted to US$116.8 billion, or 25.1 percent of its total overseas shipments worth $466.4 billion.
In order to tide over the challenge, the report said South Korea should seek opportunities in the world's No. 2 economy by making inroads into China's consumer market, expanding investments on the services industry and beefing up cooperation in high-tech business areas.