Beijing, Seoul vow to reach free trade agreement soon

Beijing and Seoul on Monday pledged to push forward free trade negotiations to upgrade cooperation, as President Xi Jinping met with Republic of Korea President Park Geun-hye on the sidelines of the APEC summit.

"Establishing a free trade area between China and the ROK is the most important issue in current Beijing-Seoul economic ties," Xi said.

"China hopes that both countries can actively advance the negotiation process and reach a high-level Free Trade Agreement that guarantees the general balance of mutual interest as soon as possible."