Ministry of Commerce: Accelerate the second phase negotiations of the China Korea Free Trade Agreement to achieve substantive results as soon as possible

On January 8th, the Ministry of Commerce held its first regular press conference of January. At the meeting, He Yadong, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, stated that the economic and trade relations between China and South Korea are close, and the production and supply chains of both sides are deeply intertwined. "New formats" and "new models" of cooperation continue to emerge, gradually becoming "new highlights" and "new engines" to promote economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. China has maintained South Korea's largest trading partner for many years, while South Korea is China's second largest trading partner. According to Chinese statistics, the trade volume between China and South Korea reached 298.9 billion US dollars from January to November 2025. As of the end of November last year, South Korea's cumulative actual investment in China was 104.65 billion US dollars. The role of China South Korea economic and trade cooperation as a "ballast stone" and "propeller" in bilateral relations continues to be highlighted.

He Yadong introduced that the Ministry of Commerce of China and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of South Korea have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Establishing a Dialogue Mechanism for China South Korea Economic and Trade Cooperation and a Memorandum of Understanding on Deepening China South Korea Industrial Park Cooperation. Both sides will actively play the role of the dialogue mechanism for economic and trade cooperation, expand the demonstration and driving effect of China South Korea industrial park cooperation, and jointly promote the upgrading of China South Korea economic and trade cooperation.

He Yadong stated that in the next step, the Ministry of Commerce is willing to work with the South Korean side to strengthen the planning and policy coordination of economic and trade cooperation, maintain stable and smooth supply chains, support mutual investment between enterprises of the two countries, accelerate the achievement of substantive results in the second phase of the China South Korea Free Trade Agreement negotiations as soon as possible, tap into the potential for cooperation in emerging fields such as high-end manufacturing, artificial intelligence, green industries, and silver economy, encourage the two countries to carry out multi-level and multi form economic and trade exchanges, and continuously expand the cake of common interests between China and South Korea.