The 13th round of China-Japan-Koreanegotiations for a free trade agreement are held at the Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu,Seoul, on March 23.
By Kim Tae Won and Hahm Hee-eun
Photos = Kim Sunjoo
Korea, Japan and China have stressed theimportance of free trade in their ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations.
The three countries expressed their concernabout the growing trend of protectionism in the global economy, and emphasizedthe importance of an FTA among Korea, Japan and China, during the 13th Round ofChina, Japan, Korea Negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (CJK FTA), at the LotteHotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, on March 23.
The meeting was attended by the threechief delegates: Kim Young-sam, deputy minister for trade & investment at theMinistry of Trade, Industry and Energy from Korea, Wang Shouwen, vice ministerof commerce for mainland China, and Kazuyuki Yamazaki, deputy minister for foreignaffairs for Japan. They examined progress on key issues, such as productnegotiation guidelines, service liberalization methods, and investmentreservation negotiations. They also discussed the road map for accelerating negotiations,and exchanged information about policies and institutions in the fields ofservices, finance and telecommunications.
Deputy Minister for Trade &Investment Kim said, “The recent rising tide of protectionism has createda lot of challenges for export-oriented economies like Korea, China andJapan,” and emphasized that, “The CJK FTA will create a mega-regionaleconomic bloc, and offer much potential as an institutional framework.”
Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Wang said,“This meeting we’re having today is not only important for the CJK FTA, butalso sends a very important message to the world, especially at a time when thesentiments and sanctions of protectionism are spreading and posing an eminentthreat to the world economy.” He added that, “China, Japan and Korea, the threemajor economies in Northeast Asia, are all determined to take concrete stepsand push forward our free trade agendas, and do our best to promote regionaleconomic integration and globalization.”
Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Yamazaki said,“Our three countries should manifest our new commitment to free trade,“ andadded that, “Japan looks forward to an expanded network and to open andtransparent trade through the CJK FTA.”
(From the left) WangShouwen, vice minister of commerce from China, Kim Young-sam, deputy ministerfor trade & investment at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy from Korea,and Kazuyuki Yamazaki, deputy minister for foreign affairs for Japan shakehands during the 13th Round of CJK Negotiations for an FTA, at the Lotte Hotelin Jung-gu, Seoul, on March 23.
