- Registration date2025-12-30
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Attached file
Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR, Minister JK Kim) and Li Chenggang, Vice Minister of Commerce and International Trade Representative of China, held the Korea–China Trade Ministers’ Meeting on Tuesday, December 30, 2025, at China’s Ministry of Commerce. At the meeting, the two sides discussed ways to accelerate the subsequent negotiations for services and investment under the Korea–China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and reviewed the status of the FTA’s implementation.
To expedite the subsequent negotiations for services and investment, the two sides agreed to regularly convene in-person meetings from 2026 onward, aiming to narrow differences through focused discussions on outstanding issues. They also agreed to hold an additional Trade Ministers’ Meeting in the first half of next year, at which Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and Representative Li Chenggang will directly review progress in the negotiations and discuss outstanding issues.
The discussions further addressed issues related to the implementation of the Korea–China FTA, including those concerning intellectual property rights, the petrochemical sector and government procurement issues. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation based on the FTA framework.
Ahead of the Trade Ministers’ Meeting, Trade Minister Yeo met with Korean stakeholders with business operations in China on December 29, 2025, to review major business trends and hear firsthand about challenges faced by stakeholders on the ground. The Trade Minister and the Korean delegation categorized these concerns by sector, distinguishing between issues that can be addressed in the short term and those requiring mid- to long-term consultations, and exchanged views with stakeholders on future support measures.
The Stakeholder concerns raised at the meeting were discussed at the Trade Ministers’ Meeting and will also continue to be addressed in the subsequent negotiations and at the Joint Committee and relevant Committees under the Korea-China FTA as FTA implementation issues. Going forward, MOTIR plans to maintain regular communication with stakeholders to ensure that on-the-ground perspectives are incorporated into policy discussions, while strengthening support to stabilize the business environment and enhance market access for Korean stakeholders in China.
During the visit, Trade Minister Yeo held separate meetings with high-level officials (minister-level) from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC). The discussions covered changes in the global trade environment, the industrial impact of supply chain restructuring and technological innovation, as well as ways to strengthen Korea–China trade cooperation. The need to maintain sustained policy dialogue channels on shared challenges facing stakeholders in both countries, including environmental and digital transitions, evolving global rules, and enhancing the predictability of trade and investment cooperation was underscored during the meetings. Building on this shared understanding, MOTIR plans to gradually establish a practical foundation for cooperation by expanding policy research collaboration and strengthening industry-level communication.
In addition, Trade Minister Yeo visited the Korea Innovation Center (KIC) in Zhongguancun to discuss ways to support Korean startups’ entry into the Chinese market. Trade Minister Yeo also visited GALBOT (Beijing Galaxy General Robot Co., Ltd.), an innovative Chinese robotics company, and met with a top executive to observe how robots are deployed in real production settings for quality control, process automation, and digital transformation. The discussions covered key use cases, on-site demand, potential areas for technological cooperation with Korean companies, testbed collaboration, and mutual information sharing on standards and certification. Through these engagements, the potential for complementarity between Korea and China in the AI–robotics convergence sector was identified, and MOTIR plans to explore points of convergence for future discussions on related policy and industrial cooperation.