Trade chiefs of South Korea and China have agreed to accelerate follow-up negotiations for the second phase of their bilateral free trade agreement.
South Korea and China have agreed to speed up negotiations on the second phase of their bilateral free trade agreement.
Meeting in Beijing, the two sides committed to holding regular in-person talks and convening another ministerial-level review next year.
The move is aimed at resolving outstanding differences and broadening market opening beyond the current framework.
The discussions took place in Beijing between South Korea’s Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and China’s Commerce Minister Li Chenggang, according to Seoul’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources as quoted by local media.
Both sides reviewed the progress made since the first phase of the FTA and assessed outstanding differences. The initial phase of the agreement, which came into force in December 2015, eliminated tariffs on a wide range of goods while allowing only limited opening of services and investment markets. Although the two countries had pledged to begin follow-up talks within two years.
To narrow remaining gaps, the two sides agreed to hold regular in-person meetings involving all relevant government agencies from next year. They also decided to convene an additional ministerial-level trade meeting in the first half of next year to directly review progress.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)