Trade officials from South Korea, China and Japan will meet this week for the next round of negotiations on the formation of free trade and to deepen multilateral economic cooperation, the South Korean state media reported on Tuesday, citing Seoul's trade ministry
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th November, 2019) Trade officials from South Korea, China and Japan will meet this week for the next round of negotiations on the formation of free trade and to deepen multilateral economic cooperation, the South Korean state media reported on Tuesday, citing Seoul's trade ministry.
According to the Yonhap news agency, the 16th round of trilateral talks will start on Wednesday and continue through the end of the week in Seoul.
The negotiations were first launched in 2012, however, since then the three Asian neighbors have been slow to reach an agreement that could become one of the biggest global economic blocs, if successful.
According to the trade ministry, as cited by the news agency, the officials are said to discuss ways to lower trade barriers as well as to boost goods and services markets.
The negotiations follow the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) earlier this month, which implies a free trade agreement between 10 ASEAN member states � Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam � as well as Russia, Australia, India, China, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan and the United States.
South Korea's chief negotiator, Yeo Han-koo, said, as cited by the media outlet, that the three countries would strive for a "win-win" deal to enhance economic cooperation in the region, based on the RCEP agreement.
