Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

The 16th round of follow-up negotiations on services and investment under the Korea–China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will take place in Beijing from August 31 to September 4, 2026.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR, Minister JK Kim) announced that around 30 officials from the two countries will take part in the talks. The Korean delegation will be led by Kwon Hye-jin, Deputy Minister for Trade Negotiations at MOTIR, and the Chinese delegation by Chen Chao, Director General of the Department of International Trade and Economic Affairs at China’s Ministry of Commerce.

Under the Korea–China FTA, which entered into force in 2015, the two countries agreed to hold follow-up negotiations to further liberalize services and investment. They launched the talks in March 2018 and have since held 15 formal rounds.
Through the follow-up negotiations, the two sides aim to facilitate trade in services and investment by opening more service sectors to each other and making market access conditions clearer and more predictable. This would lay the groundwork for bilateral trade to expand beyond goods into services. Progress in the talks would therefore carry symbolic significance, showing that bilateral economic cooperation can be sustained and continue to evolve.

Against this backdrop, the leaders of Korea and China agreed in January 2026 to work toward meaningful progress in the talks within the year. The two sides have since continued their high-level dialogue on how to advance the negotiations, including at the Korea–China Trade Ministers’ Meeting in March and a June meeting between Korea’s Minister for Trade and China’s International Trade Representative. Building on this positive momentum, the Korean delegation plans to accelerate the talks and make substantive progress.

“Amid continued uncertainty in the trade environment at home and abroad, concluding the Korea–China FTA follow-up talks could expand bilateral services trade and investment. MOTIR will spare no effort to secure a durable outcome that brings practical benefits to Korean companies,” Deputy Minister Kwon said.