Korea, China open 2nd round of FTA talks

Korea and China began their second round of free trade talks on Tuesday to discuss the scope of the deal and other issues, Seoul’s Trade Ministry said.

During the three-day meeting on Korea’s southern island of Jeju, both sides will also discuss how to set up working groups on each segment, according to the ministry.

In early May, the two countries announced the launch of formal free trade negotiations, expecting the talks to take two years.

The neighboring countries earlier agreed that the talks on a free trade deal will proceed in two phases, with the handling of sensitive items and the scope of the trade agreement to be mainly discussed first.

Agriculture and fisheries are considered to be the most sensitive sectors for Korea, while China categorizes its manufacturing industries, which include the automobile, machinery and oil sectors, as sensitive.

China is Korea’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade expected to reach $300 billion by 2015.

Since 2008, Korea and China had held a series of joint feasibility studies on a possible free trade deal and exchanged views on sensitive issues. (Yonhap News)