President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is visiting Korea to attend the 9th trilateral summit meeting, agreed to resume the second phase of negotiations on the Korea-China FTA during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Chang. They also decided to enhance cooperation in combating transnational crimes related to drugs, illegal gambling, and fraud.
During the bilateral meeting at the Blue House on the 26th, President Yoon stated, “I hope that both countries will continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation, respect each other, and pursue mutual interests in the future.” Premier Li responded by expressing his desire for China and Korea to become reliable good neighbors and supportive partners in each other’s success.
Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in various sectors such as politics, diplomacy, security, economics, and society. In the field of diplomacy and security, they decided to establish a Korea-China Foreign and Security Dialogue 2+2 mechanism between the foreign ministries and defense ministries, as well as to resume strategic dialogues between vice-ministers of foreign affairs that had been suspended since the latter half of this year.
Additionally, in the economic sector, they agreed to restart the Korea-China Investment Cooperation Commission, which has been suspended for 13 years. President Yoon expressed his hope for economic and investment policies in line with global standards to provide a more secure environment for Korean companies, while Premier Li pledged to continue promoting marketization based on the rule of law.
In particular, both countries agreed to resume the second phase of negotiations to expand the Korea-China FTA announced in December 2015 from goods trade to services, culture, tourism, and legal areas. They also plan to launch a new dialogue mechanism for supply chain control in the near future.
Furthermore, they decided to expand exchanges, including the resumption of youth exchange programs, and to strengthen cooperation in combating transnational crimes such as drugs and illegal gambling, focusing on enhancing police cooperation.
[Photo Source: Yonhap News Agency / Provided by the Blue House]