Following 'Fast Track', FTA... 7th Service and Investment Follow-up Negotiations with China

Video Conference from 26th to 29th

Economic and Trade Ministers of South Korea, China, and Japan participating in the "12th Korea-China-Japan Economic and Trade Ministers' Meeting" held in Beijing, China, on December 22 last year. From the left: Sung Yun-mo, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea; Zhong Shan, Minister of Commerce of China; Hiroshi Kajiyama, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. At that time, the three ministers agreed to cooperate to realize a multilateral free trade agreement (FTA) at a higher level than the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). (Photo by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] South Korea and China agreed earlier this month to simplify entry procedures for businesspeople (fast track). They will now begin negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) for services and investment.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 26th that the 7th follow-up negotiations on the Korea-China FTA services and investment will be held via video conference for four days from today until the 29th.

From today until the 28th, meetings for each subcommittee on services, investment, and finance will be held, and on the 29th, a chief representatives meeting will take place.

On the Korean side, Lee Kyung-sik, FTA negotiator at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and on the Chinese side, Yang Zhengwei (楊正偉), Deputy Director of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce of China, will serve as chief representatives, with about 20 government officials from both sides attending.

So far, the two countries have held six official negotiations and recent inter-session video conferences to expand mutual market opening in the fields of services, investment, and finance.

They plan to accelerate negotiations this year as well.

In particular, through this meeting, in-depth discussions will continue in each subcommittee to ensure that market opening in areas of Korean interest is reflected as much as possible.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated, "We plan to actively respond to the negotiations to expand Korean companies' entry into the Chinese service market and strengthen investment protection," adding, "We will continue to promote progress in negotiations through various methods such as video conferences to accelerate negotiations within this year.”