China, RoK agree to foster economic ties
(VOVworld) - China and the Republic of Korea have agreed on measures to expand economic ties, increase trade exchanges, and conclude negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) before the year’s end. The pledge was made during Thursday’s talks in Seoul between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his South Korean counterpart, Park Geun Hye. In a joint statement issued after the talks, both leaders also agreed on measures to create a won-yuan direct exchange market. The Republic of Korea’s Central Bank and Ministry of Finance also confirmed that the yuan will be the second currency after the US dollar that can be directly exchanged for won.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his RoK counterpart Park Geun Hye in Seoul on July 3rd. Photo: internet
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China and the Republic of Korea launched the FTA negotiations in 2012 but this process was postponed due to disagreements between the two countries over market expansion. Both sides have conducted several rounds of negotiations on lifting tariffs for goods and services, but have not been able to narrow their differences in a number of areas, including an open door policy for agricultural products. China is currently RoK’s largest export market with bilateral trade topping 275 billion USD in 2013.