my timesThe Korea Times

Korea, China to hold 13th round of FTA follow-up talks on service, investment

Listen
By Yonhap
  • Published KST
Flags of South Korea and China are seen at a plant of Hyundai Motor Co. on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Jan. 25, 2019. Reuters-Yonhap

Flags of South Korea and China are seen at a plant of Hyundai Motor Co. on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Jan. 25, 2019. Reuters-Yonhap

Korea and China are set to hold a fresh round of follow-up negotiations on service and investment under their bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), Seoul's trade ministry said Monday.

Trade delegations from the two sides will hold the 13th round of follow-up negotiations throughout this week in Beijing, aiming to expand the countries' FTA to include service and investment, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.

Seoul and Beijing implemented their bilateral FTA in December 2015, removing major tariffs on products. The countries have held 12 follow-up meetings since 2018 to expand the scope of the bilateral trade pact to investment and service sectors.

Earlier this month, President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to work to make progress in trade negotiations within this year during their bilateral summit in Beijing, according to the ministry.