The following is a chronology of events leading to the conclusion of negotiations between South Korea and China for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) that was announced Monday.

2004

Sept. 5 -- Trade ministers of South Korea and China agree to launch a joint study on the FTA while meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN Plus Three ministerial talks.

2006

November -- The joint feasibility study on the Korea-China FTA ends.

Nov. 17 -- Trade ministers of South Korea and China agree to launch a new joint feasibility study involving the countries' private and public sectors in 2007.

2007

Mar. 22-23 -- The first meeting of the joint study on the Korea-China FTA is held in Beijing.

July 3-4 -- The second meeting of the joint study on the Korea-China FTA is held in Seoul.

Oct. 23-25 -- The third meeting of the joint study on the Korea-China FTA is held in China's Weihai.

2008

Feb. 18-20 -- The fourth meeting of the joint study on the Korea-China FTA is held in South Korea's Jeju island.

June 11-13 -- The fifth meeting of the joint study on the Korea-China FTA is held in Beijing.

2010

February -- A meeting between the countries' chief delegates in the joint study on the Korea-China FTA is held in Beijing.

May 28 -- A memorandum of understanding on the conclusion of the joint study on the Korea-China FTA is signed.

Sept. 28-29 -- The first preliminary meeting on the Korea-China FTA, involving officials from the countries' governments, is held in Beijing.

2011

April 11 -- Trade ministers of South Korea and China hold talks in Beijing.

2012

Feb. 24 -- The first public hearing on the Korea-China FTA is held.

Mar. 1-2 -- Working-level talks on the launch of Korea-China FTA negotiations are held in Seoul.

Mar. 22-23 -- Working-level talks on the launch of Korea-China FTA negotiations are held in Beijing.

May 14 -- South Korea and China hold their first round of FTA negotiations in Beijing.

July 3-5 -- The second round of Korea-China FTA negotiations is held in Jeju.

Aug. 22-24 -- The third round of Korea-China FTA negotiations is held in Weihai.

Oct. 20-Nov. 1 -- The fourth round of Korea-China FTA talks is held in South Korea's Gyeongju.

2013

April 26-28 -- South Korea and China hold the fifth round of FTA talks in China's Harbin, the first of its kind since the countries' new administrations came into office. The countries reaffirm their resolution to sign a bilateral FTA.

July 2-4 -- The sixth round of Korea-China FTA negotiations is held in Busan.

Sept. 3-5 -- South Korea and China hold their seventh round of FTA negotiations in China's Weifang, declaring the conclusion of what they called the first stage of a two-stage FTA talks. Under an agreement reached at the end of the first-stage negotiations, the countries agreed to liberalize their respective markets to 90 percent of all products, in terms of the number of items, and 85 percent of all products, in terms of value, traded between the countries.

Nov. 18-22 -- The eighth round of Korea-China FTA negotiations is held in South Korea's Incheon.

2014

Jan. 6-10 -- South Korea and China hold the ninth round of FTA talks in China's Xian.

Mar. 17-21 -- The 10th round of FTA negotiations between South Korea and China is held in South Korea's Goyang.

May 26-30 -- The 11th round of Korea-China FTA talks is held in China's Sichuan.

July 3 -- South Korean and Chinese leaders call for efforts to conclude their countries' FTA negotiations before the end of the year in a summit held in Seoul.

July 14-18 -- The 12th round of Korea-China FTA negotiations is held in South Korea's Daegu.

Sept. 22-26 -- South Korea and China hold the 13th round of FTA talks in Beijing.

Nov. 6-10 -- South Korea and China hold the 14th round of FTA negotiations in Beijing.

Nov. 10 -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping declare the conclusion of their countries' FTA negotiations in a bilateral summit held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Beijing. (Yonhap)