South Korea was found to have logged a trade deficit with China for the first time in 28 years in May amid a continuous surge in imports of Chinese products.

According to the Korea Customs Service, the country ran a deficit of one-point-one billion dollars with China in May and again posted a deficit of one-point-two billion dollars in June.

Observers say this resulted from a surge in South Korea’s dependency on Chinese imports while exports of South Korean products to China remained stagnant.

Although some claim that Beijing’s lockdown measures factored heavily in the trade deficit with China, others have assessed that structural changes in South Korea’s trade with China were the primary cause.

In the wake of policies implemented by Beijing in the late 2000s, South Korea's exports of intermediate goods to China have declined while South Korea's imports of Chinese finished goods surged.

Such policies sought to boost the use of Chinese mechanical systems and intermediate goods in production.

Some observers have stressed the need to expand South Korea's export destinations to other regions, including the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, where the country continues to see a trade surplus.