Chinese Leader Urges Seoul To Speed Up Talks On Free Trade Agreement

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Saturday on South Korea to intensify negotiations on a free trade agreement between Beijing and Seoul.

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th November, 2018) Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Saturday on South Korea to intensify negotiations on a free trade agreement between Beijing and Seoul.

"It is necessary to focus on promoting joint implementation of the One Belt, One Road Initiative, to speed up the second phase of negotiations on a free trade agreement between our two countries, and to promote optimization and advancement of mutually beneficial cooperation to a new level," Xi said during a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of the APEC summit.

According to the Chinese leader, the parties also need to strengthen coordination and cooperation in the framework of multilateral formats, including the APEC, the G20, and the trilateral China-Japan-South Korea format.

Moon Jae-in noted that at the moment, bilateral relations between China and South Korea were trending toward rapid restoration, adding that contacts and cooperation in each sphere have largely resumed.

Seoul is ready to make joint efforts with China to deepen cooperation and provide even greater benefits for the peoples of the two countries, he added.