- Negotiations
The governments of China, South Korea and Japan are expected to commence negotiations on an eventual trilateral free trade agreement between the three countries during 2012 by first concluding bilateral agreements.
In December 2011, the three countries held a final joint study meeting on the feasibility of an FTA among them.
In January 2012, the South Korean and Chinese presidents announced that they would move towards negotiating a bilateral agreement between the two countries. In March 2012, the three countries concluded an investment agreement among themselves which is viewed as a step towards a more comprehensive FTA. In May 2012, China and Korea held their first round of negotiations towards an FTA in Beijing.
Negotiations on a Japan-Korea bilateral FTA, which stalled in 2004, despite several attempts to revive them, have to contend with unresolved tensions stemming from the Japanese occupation of Korea in the first half of the 20th century and Japanese resistance to lowering tariffs on agricultural imports. Any eventual FTA between China, South Korea and Japan needs to be seen in the context of ongoing economic and political rivalry between China and the USA, as Washington pursues plans to create a new regional free trade and investment agreement by joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
last update: May 2012
Photo: KOREA.NET - Official page of the Republic of Korea / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
3-Mar-2011
South Korea needs to sign a three-way free trade deal with Japan and China in a bid to boost prosperity in the Asian region and better prepare for external shocks, a senior finance ministry official said Thursday.
7-Feb-2011
AFP
China, Japan and South Korea will sign a treaty in May to boost cross-border investment and better protect intellectual property, according to a report.
2-Dec-2010
China Daily
Free trade agreement (FTA) talks among China, Japan and the Republic of Korea could start in 2012 as the countries try to reduce reliance on the United States and the European Union, Yi Xiaozhun, vice-minister of commerce, told China Daily.
25-Nov-2010
Bernama
South Korea, China and Japan will hold a third joint study meeting next week on the feasibility of a free trade agreement among the three Northeast Asian countries, Seoul’s trade ministry said Wednesday.
28-Oct-2010
Xinhua
South Korea is facing a cabbage crisis that the Chinese government thinks could have been avoided if the two countries had signed an FTA together.
25-Aug-2010
South Korea, China and Japan will hold a second joint study meeting next month on the feasibility of a free trade agreement (FTA) among the three Northeast Asian countries, Seoul’s trade ministry said Wednesday.
22-Aug-2010
Asahi Shimbun
The Japanese government needs to take steps to make an FTA more attractive to Korean industries, says the Asahi Shimbun
5-Aug-2010
NYT
South Korea’s ambassador to China said in an interview published Thursday that his nation was likely to open free trade talks with Beijing next year. The negotiations could be a first step toward a three-nation trade zone including Japan, which would rival the European Union and the North American Free Trade Agreement in size.
23-Jun-2010
Chosun Ilbo
The two governments will start preliminary talks on sensitive items such as agriculture and automobiles in September
31-May-2010
AFP
South Korea, Japan and China agreed Sunday to speed up an investment accord and research on a trilateral free trade pact.
