MOFCOM spokesperson He Yadong at a press conference on December 28, 2023 Photo: Tao Mingyang/GT

The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said Thursday China is willing to work with Japan and South Korea to accelerate negotiations for a China-Japan-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA), indicating a potential enhancement in trilateral trade cooperation and fostering improved relations between the three countries.

"Since being first launched in 2012, the China-Japan-South Korea FTA negotiations have advanced through 16 rounds. In a joint declaration at the recent trilateral summit in Seoul, South Korea, the leaders emphasized the importance of transparently and effectively implementing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as a foundation for the China-Japan-South Korea FTA. They agreed to expedite negotiations, aiming to forge a free, fair, comprehensive, high-quality, and mutually beneficial trade deal," according to He Yadong, a spokesperson for MOFCOM.

The recent summit set a clear direction for accelerating China-Japan-South Korea FTA negotiations. Due to the strong industrial links and economic complementarity among the three nations, if finalized, it would enhance existing trade cooperation by further opening markets, reducing trade barriers, increasing investment, and improving the business environment, and delivering real benefits to businesses and people in all three nations, according to He.

"China is willing to work with Japan and South Korea to advance China-Japan-South Korea FTA negotiations, and make positive contributions to maintaining stability and recovery of the regional and world economy," he said. 

"A China-Japan-South Korea FTA will ease liberalization across sectors like investment, goods trade, and services," Xiang Haoyu, a research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"From another perspective, amid China-US trade tensions, and with Japan and South Korea as US allies, resuming trilateral cooperation mechanism among the three nations sends a strong positive message globally, with significant political and economic implications," Xiang added. 

"Yet, the China-Japan-South Korea FTA confronts several challenges, such as potential US disruptions, different levels of openness of industries among the three countries, historical grievances, and overlaps with RCEP," Xiang said, noting that these complexities must be carefully addressed before executing the agreement successfully.

Nonetheless, this is a promising start. Moving forward, we should view the future cooperation of the three countries with cautious optimism, Xiang stated.

The idea of a China-Japan-South Korea FTA was first proposed at the 2002 trilateral summit, and negotiations were officially launched in 2012 during the East Asia leaders' meetings in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Despite over 20 years and 16 rounds of talks, the agreement has yet to be finalized.

Global Times