Korea, China, Japan resume FTA talks after 6-year hiatus

Little progress has been made in their FTA negotiations since they began talks in 2013

Muto Yoji (left), Japanese economic minister, Ahn Duk-geun (center), South Korean trade minister and Wang Wentao, Chinese commerce minister

Ji-Eun Ha 1

2025-03-31 16:19:46 hazzys@hankyung.com

Business & Politics

South Korea held an economic ministers’ meeting with China and Japan on Sunday to discuss cooperation, including resuming negotiations about a trilateral free trade agreement (FTA), said South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE).

It marked the first time that the economic ministers of the three countries sat down to discuss policy cooperation since December 2019 in Beijing. The meeting was also a follow-up gathering to the trilateral summit by their heads of state in May 2024 in Seoul.

“The three countries agreed to closely cooperate toward a comprehensive and high-level FTA among South Korea, Japan and China, as well as on issues related to multilateral trade systems, including the expansion of the RCEP membership and the WTO reform,” the MOTIE said in a statement.

The RCEP, or the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, is a free trade agreement among the Asia-Pacific countries, including Australia.

Their meeting comes just ahead of Washington's imposition of 5% tariffs on foreign-made cars and car components starting on April 2.

Directors of trade from South Korea, China and Japan hold a joint briefing following their economic minister meeting on March 30

They discussed strengthening communications to build a predictable business environment, stabilize supply chains and respond to export controls.

“They held in-depth talks on the global trade agenda with a focus on cooperation in the industrial and energy sectors," the MOTIE added.

SYMBOLIC GESTURE?

The meeting was attended by Ahn Duk-geun, South Korean minister of trade, industry and energy; Muto Yoji, Japanese minister of economy, trade and industry; and Wang Wentao, Chinese commerce minister.

Some analysts expressed skepticism about the meeting. They say it will remain largely symbolic, given concerns that working with China may not support trade negotiations with the Trump administration.

The three-way FTA negotiations have made little progress since they began talks in 2013.

At the meeting, Chinese commerce minister Wang criticized the US unilateral tariff measures, which he said would undermine normal economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

Meanwhile, his Japanese and South Korean counterparts did not immediately respond to his remarks.

Write to Ji-Eun Ha at hazzys@hankyung.com

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.