|
The Chinese and South Korean governments said
last week that they had "effectively" reached a free trade
agreement that would remove or sharply reduce barriers of trade
and investment between the two Asian countries.
"Our next step involves some technical issues and we will
conduct some working consultations, striving to finish
negotiations entirely within a year," China's Assistant Commerce
Minister Wang Shouwen told reporters.
"Next year, in the first half of the year, we hope both sides
will be able to formally sign an agreement," he said. "If all
goes smoothly and in line with our hopes, then next year, in
second half of the year, the China-South Korea free trade
agreement potentially could be formally implemented."
The deal between China, the world's largest exporter, and South
Korea, ranked seventh, faces legal and parliament reviews in the
two countries.
On Monday, China and Australia sealed a free trade agreement
more than a decade in the making, while South Korea struck a
free trade deal with New Zealand.
Asked whether there were similar concerns over the South Korean
agreement as with stalled trade talks with Taiwan, Wang said he
felt regret at the Taiwan talks falling apart and is not willing
to see the same happen with South Korea.
Mass anti-Beijing protests in Taiwan ultimately derailed a trade
pact that would have opened cross-straits investments in a long
list of sectors.
The follow-up talks with Taiwan have yielded some results, he
said, and the two sides must continue to push ahead with such
talks.
The conclusion of a free trade agreement with South Korea should
additionally benefit similar talks with Japan, and hopefully
they will be able to announce progress on China-Japan talks next
year, Wang said.
(Reporting by Jake Spring; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
