South Korea has voiced confidence in China’s economic outlook, with the new finance minister saying he does not expect any serious adverse impact on his country, which depends heavily on Chinese trade.

韩国表达了对中国经济前景的信心，韩国新任财长柳一镐(Yoo Il-ho)表示，他预计这不会对韩国造成严重负面影响，韩国严重依赖中国贸易。

Yoo Il-ho’s comments come as the world awaits China’s official 2015 economic growth figures on Tuesday, amid jitters about the extent of the country’s slowdown.

在柳一镐发表上述言论之际，全球正等待中国周二公布的2015年官方经济增长数据，此际市场对中国的放缓程度感到担忧。

“We would all agree that the Chinese economy is in the process of slowing down,” Mr Yoo, who took office this month having served as a lawmaker for the ruling New Frontier party, told the Financial Times. But he endorsed Beijing’s predictions of a “soft landing”, saying Seoul expected China’s economy to grow between 6 per cent and 7 per cent this year.

柳一镐告诉英国《金融时报》：“我们都认为，中国经济正处于放缓之中。”但他支持中国的“软着陆”预期，他表示，韩国预测，中国经济今年的增速将为6%至7%。

Last year, South Korea’s sales to China fell 5.6 per cent, dragging on national growth, after surging for years to about a quarter of total exports. Hyundai Motor suffered a drop in sales as China’s car market slowed, while steelmaker Posco had its first annual loss amid falling activity from China’s construction market.

去年，韩国对华出口下降5.6%，这拖累了韩国的经济增长，多年来，中国占韩国出口总额的比例已飙升至约四分之一。由于中国汽车市场放缓，现代汽车(Hyundai Motor)销量下滑，在中国建筑市场活动滑坡之际，钢铁制造商浦项制铁公司(Posco)首度遭遇年度亏损。

Mr Yoo said South Korea was trying to develop other export markets to compensate for the slump in Chinese demand. But he added: “We believe the fundamentals of the Chinese economy are quite stable. If you look at China’s balance of trade, there is a very healthy surplus... do not believe there is a severe risk for the Korean economy.”

柳一镐表示，韩国正努力开发其他出口市场，以弥补中国需求的滑坡。但他补充称：“我们认为，中国经济的基本面因素相当稳定。如果你考察一下中国的贸易余额，你会发现贸易顺差非常健康……我们认为，韩国经济不会出现严重风险。”