Korea-China FTA Talks to Start Next Year, Beijing Says

Korea-China free trade talks will start next year, a senior Chinese government official said Wednesday.

China's Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Zengwei made the remark at a press conference after China signed the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, a wide-ranging de facto FTA, with Taiwan in Chongqing on Tuesday, according to the Chinese-language media.

It was the first time a senior Chinese official has mentioned a specific timeline for the long-awaited FTA talks.