China-Korea.jpg (Photo : Reuters)
South Korea and China have effectively reached a free trade agreement (FTA) under which tariffs on more than 90 percent of goods imported from each other will be removed, according to South Korean officials.
The announcement was made as South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping met outside the official proceedings of the ongoing APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Beijing.
Park described the two countries as having "effectively reached" a deal, while Xi said that the FTA talks had made "significant progress," according to a Channel News Asia report.
The South Korean statement, however, said that there remain a few differences over a few "details" that have yet to be settled before the two countries could sign the FTA, which they hope to do by the year's end.
Tariffs on 92 percent of Chinese products imported to South Korea and 91 percent of South Korean products imported to China will be removed by the FTA within 20 years, the statement said.
The lifting of tariffs would not apply to certain products such as rice, beef, pork and pepper, according to the statement. These goods constitute 30 percent by value of agricultural imports from China.
"The latest FTA will help us secure an opportunity to tap into the vast Chinese market," the statement said.
The two East Asian neighbors began negotiations on the FTA in 2012, but differences regarding the extent of market opening have hampered its finalization.
Meanwhile, South Korean farmers have protested against the FTA because of worries that it would bring a surge of cheap Chinese goods to the country.
