Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun is seen in this photo taken March 27. Yonhap

Industry ministers of South Korea and China discussed expanding economic cooperation in the supply chain and other areas, Saturday, amid growing tensions in global trade in their first meeting in over a year, Seoul's ministry said the same day.

Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao, held a bilateral meeting in Seoul ahead of the trilateral meeting of industry ministers of South Korea, China and Japan, scheduled for the following day, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The previous meeting of the two countries' industry ministers was held in San Francisco in November 2023.

In the latest meeting, the two sides agreed to continue bilateral cooperation in trade under the multilateral trading systems of the World Trade Organization and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) despite heightened global tensions sparked by major economies' protectionist policies, according to the ministry.

Ahn and Wentao also discussed expanding cooperation in supply chains of critical minerals, which are essential for advanced industries, such as the battery and semiconductor sectors.

The two sides also agreed to cooperate for the successful hosting of the upcoming APEC summit to be held in South Korea this year and in China next year, the ministry said. (Yonhap)