A free trade deal between South Korea and China will bring a huge potential for already vibrant economic ties between the two nations, a Chinese expert said Monday, shortly after Seoul and Beijing "effectively" reached a free trade agreement.

Wrapping up more than 30 months of drawn-out negotiations, the two nations announced a conclusion of the talks that will significantly eliminate trade and investment barriers between the countries earlier in the day.

The announcement came minutes after South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a bilateral summit on the sidelines of the APEC gathering in Beijing.

Qu Xing, head of the China Institute of International Studies, said the free trade deal will "significantly boost trade and economic cooperation between China and South Korea."

"China and South Korea are both trade powers with two-way trade reaching more than US$200 billion. So, an FTA will bring huge potential for the development of bilateral ties," Qu said.

In a statement, China's commerce ministry said the two nations reached "substantive negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement."

South Korean officials added that rice was finally excluded from the deal.

The deal covers 17 areas, including e-commerce, competition policy, government procurement and the environment, according to the Chinese statement.

The Chinese ministry described the deal with South Korea as "comprehensive, high-level and balanced interests."

China is South Korea's biggest trading partner, with two-way trade reaching $229 billion last year.

Some analysts said the deal would not only bring overall economic benefits to the two nations, but also help South Korea bolster its political relations with China, the only patron of North Korea.

Under the deal, China agreed to eliminate tariffs on 91 percent of goods over the next two decades, while South Korea agreed to do so on 92 percent of goods.

Bilateral trade in 70 percent of farm and fisheries goods will be liberalized, according to South Korean officials in Beijing.

A total of 610 agricultural items such as beef, pork, apple and garlic were also excluded from the deal. (Yonhap)