SOURCE / ECONOMY
China-US phase-one trade deal to positively influence S. Korean economy
Published: Dec 17, 2019 08:40 AM

Photo taken on May 30, 2018 shows packed Korean ginseng products at Cheong-Kwan-Jang ginseng factory in Buyeo County of South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang)


The phase-one economic and trade deal between China and the United States is expected to positively influence the South Korean economy and stock market, experts said here Monday.

China and the United States have agreed on the text of a phase-one economic and trade agreement based on the principle of equality and mutual respect, and reached consensus that the U.S. side will fulfill its commitments to phase out its additional tariffs on Chinese products.

It was "positive for the two sides" to reach an agreement on the text of the phase-one deal before the end of this year, said Han Jae-jin, a manager of the global emerging markets team at Hyundai Research Institute in Seoul, adding the "agreement itself was greater than expected."

The implementation of the phase-one deal would be of significance for future trade negotiations, the researcher said.


Photo taken on Feb. 22, 2019 shows the Lotte World Tower and other buildings in Seoul, South Korea. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang)


Han noted that if China and the United States could complete the trade deal, it would have a significantly positive impact on the South Korean economy, which depends heavily on exports for economic growth.

South Korea's exports, which account for about half of the country's economy, dived 14.4 percent in November from a year earlier, showing a downward momentum for the 12th consecutive month.

Seol Tae-hyun, an analyst at South Korea's DB Financial Investment, forecast that if the phase-one deal is implemented, expectations for a global economic recovery would have a positive impact on the local stock market.

"There is no reason to negatively view the phase-one deal. It is already known to (financial) markets and the stock market index advanced high," he told Xinhua.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or KOSPI, jumped 1.54 percent Friday amid high expectations for the phase-one trade agreement between China and the United States, South Korea's top two trading partners. The index shed 0.1 percent Monday on demand for profit-taking.

Choi Seo-young, an economist at Samsung Futures company, said in a report that the trade deal was "clearly positive news," calling it the "biggest outcome" for more than a year during which the trade feud rattled the global economy.