South Korean Trade Minister Yoon Sang-jick on Thursday called for China to seek a "wise breakthrough" in a fresh round of ministerial-level negotiations to try to wrap up a landmark free trade agreement, saying that a deal would serve as an "epoch-making chance" to upgrade bilateral ties. Yoon and his Chinese counterpart, Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng, began the latest round of free trade talks at the Chinese commerce ministry, with Seoul delegates saying that the talks could be extended by days until the leaders of the two nations meet on the sidelines of the APEC gathering earlier next week. "Throughout this round of ministerial talks, I expect the two sides to make a wise breakthrough in the remaining sensitive issues, including goods, services, the rule of origin and non-tariff barriers," Yoon said in his opening remarks. "By doing so, I hope this round of talks will become an important milestone in pursuing a Korea-China free trade agreement," Yoon said. A deal, Yoon said, would give the two nations an "epoch-making chance to upgrade the strategic cooperative partnership between Korea and China." Before the ministerial-level talks began on Thursday evening, Yoo and Gao held a one-on-one meeting for about an hour, according to Seoul delegates.
Gao also agreed that, if a deal is signed, it would "not only make the Korea-China bilateral trade relationship closer, but also further enhance the two nations' industrial and global competitiveness." "We are willing to work together with our South Korean colleagues to conclude the free trade negotiations," Gao said. Progress has been made in the previous rounds of talks, but the two nations have failed to make headway on sticky issues such as greater access to China's protected financial and telecom services. China also wants South Korea to open up more of its agricultural market. Kim Young-moo, director-general for FTA negotiations at South Korea's Trade Ministry leading the South Korean negotiating team in the free trade talks with China, told a group of Korean correspondents earlier this week that the two nations could find creative ways to resolve their differences. However, Kim was neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the prospects of sealing a deal before South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping hold a bilateral meeting earlier next week on the sidelines of the APEC gathering. "We leave open the possibility of reaching a deal before the bilateral summit, but there is also the possibility of failing to reach a deal by then," he said. As an indication of last-minute efforts to make a deal, however, Kim said the Thursday talks between Yoon and Gao could be extended by a few days until the Park-Xi summit. South Korea and China have reached or are close to reaching deals on 16 of 22 areas in the free trade talks, but major differences remain in high-profile areas, including how to eliminate tariffs on goods, the services market, non-tariff barriers and rules of origin, Kim said. The two nations started their formal free trade negotiations in May 2012, and Park and Xi agreed to work together to achieve an agreement by the end of the year during their summit in early July. Agriculture and fisheries are considered the most sensitive sectors for South Korea, while China categorizes its manufacturing industries, which include the automobile, machinery and oil sectors, as sensitive. China accounts for more than 30 percent of South Korea's exports. Two-way trade of goods between South Korea and China totaled about US$270 billion last year, according to Chinese government figures. (Yonhap)
