Processing trade contributed greatly to China’s economic growth. The total value of China’s processing trade was US $1.7 billion during the initial period of reform and opening up, and reached US $1.2 trillion in 2015. However, the proportion of processing trade in China’s trade volume has been gradually declining due to the restrictions on processing trade imposed in the 2000s, a decline in overseas demand since the global financial crisis, and increasing labor costs in China. Nevertheless, its proportion still constitutes about 30% of the total trade value of China, remaining important. In particular, the percentage of processing trade with Korea accounts for approximately 50%, playing a vital role in China’s total trade with Korea.China’s processing trade is largely divided into two major types : processing with imported materials (PIM) and processing with supplied materials (PSM). PIM accounted for 86.2% of China’s total processing trade in 2015, taking advantage of technological development and creation of value added. In PIM, Chinese firms import components, raw materials and parts so as to process and assemble them into finished products based on the firms’ plan for re-export, for which the processing firms are responsible and can strategically create value added. In PSM, a Chinese processing company is provided with raw materials and components for free of charge by an overseas enterprise, and processes and assembles them on consignment and in accordance with the requirements of the overseas enterprise. The Chinese firm exports the finished parts or products to the enterprise that supplied materials and is paid through charging a processing fee. PSM can take advantage of low costs as free raw materials are supplied. Hence, it was prevalent during the early stage of reform and opening up, in which China had an abundance of labor force while it lacked funds and technologies. Therefore, PSM requires imports of auxiliary parts as well as core parts and materials, while PIM mainly requires imports of the core parts and materials which are not produced in China.There are several differences between PIM and PSM such as value addition and required technical levels. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct an analysis focusing on the trade structure of the both processing trade types. In most studies, processing trade as a whole was regarded as a type of trade because it is difficult to access to detailed trade data such as trade data by types. The existing studies analyzed the trade structures by processing stages such as intermediate goods, consumer goods and primary products based on the classification by Broad Economic Categories (BEC). However, through these studies, it is difficult to separate which import and export transactions undertaken through ordinary trade or processing trade channels. In addition, the proportion of PIM in total processing trade is considerably higher within the processing trade, and the significance of PIM for high added value can be underestimated. An analysis on the trade structure by characteristics of enterprises is also crucial. The proportions of Chinese enterprises and foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) in different types of trade such as ordinary trade, PIM and PSM as well as shifts in these will provide meaningful implications. Most FIEs involved in China-South Korea processing trade are Korean companies. More specifically, enterprises exporting finished goods after processing to South Korea could be Korean companies which entered and operate in China. Through such detailed analysis, this paper grasps the structural changes in China-South Korea trade and regulating policy, and suggests implications
