7th Korea-China FTA Joint Committee held in Beijing

Seoul pushes for expanded legal distribution of Korean cultural content

Two sides to jointly address supply chain, digital transition issues

Yeo Han-koo (left), South Korea's chief trade negotiator at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, poses for a photo with Li Chenggang, China's international trade negotiations representative at the Ministry of Commerce, after their meeting in Suzhou, China, on May 21 (local time), on the sidelines of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting. [Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]
Yeo Han-koo (left), South Korea's chief trade negotiator at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, poses for a photo with Li Chenggang, China's international trade negotiations representative at the Ministry of Commerce, after their meeting in Suzhou, China, on May 21 (local time), on the sidelines of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting. [Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]

South Korea and China have agreed to introduce a self-certification of origin system to streamline export procedures for Korean companies doing business in China. The move is expected to reduce the time and cost of obtaining certificates of origin for about 6,000 domestic exporters.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Yeo Han-koo, South Korea's chief trade negotiator, convened the 7th Korea-China Free Trade Agreement Joint Committee in Beijing on Thursday with Li Chenggang, China's international trade negotiations representative at the Ministry of Commerce, and reached agreement on key improvements including the new measure.

The committee was attended by related ministries including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The two sides reviewed implementation of the Korea-China FTA, which marks its 12th anniversary this year, and discussed key improvements raised by subcommittee panels covering tariffs and rules of origin, technical barriers to trade, intellectual property rights, and economic cooperation.

The two countries agreed to introduce self-certification of origin by certified exporters and to update product-specific rules of origin to make it easier for Korean companies to use the FTA. Under the certified exporter system, customs authorities grant recognized exporters the right to self-certify origin or simplify the certification process. The ministry said the measure is expected to reduce the administrative burden on about 6,000 domestic companies in their export operations.

The two sides also reviewed technical barriers to trade in key sectors including portable batteries, electrical and electronic products, and cosmetics. They discussed ways to ease regulatory requirements — including expanding mutual recognition of test reports — to improve market access for businesses.

The two countries also agreed to continue cooperating within the Korea-China FTA framework on emerging trade issues such as supply chain stabilization and digital transition.

The chief representatives of both sides shared information on intellectual property violations, including the illegal online distribution of Korean content in China, and agreed to step up cooperation to strengthen enforcement and raise the level of protection. South Korea particularly stressed the need to expand legal distribution channels for Korean cultural content in China, and proposed broadening the legitimate cultural content market through follow-on negotiations on services and investment.

A smaller bilateral meeting held after the joint committee focused on ways to advance the follow-on services and investment negotiations. The two countries agreed to accelerate consultations on key outstanding issues, in line with a commitment made at their summit talks in January to work toward meaningful progress in the follow-on negotiations this year.

During his visit to China, Yeo also took steps to support Korean consumer goods' entry into the Chinese market and to expand industrial cooperation. He visited Tianjin Port, the largest logistics hub in northern China, to review ways to improve Korean consumer goods' access to China's inland regions and markets in Mongolia and Central Asia.

Yeo also visited Zhongguancun, China's leading innovation cluster, where he held a meeting with representatives of digital technology and platform service companies to discuss ways to expand cooperation. In Tianjin, he met with Korean companies in the electronics and chemicals sectors to hear about local business conditions and challenges.


oskymoon@heraldcorp.com