China and South Korea have initialed their free trade agreement (FTA), the end of FTA negotiations, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced in a brief statement on its website.
The agreement will cover 17 areas, including trade in goods and services, investment and trade rules, and topics such as e-commerce and government procurement.
Under the pact, South Korea will eliminate tariffs on 79 percent of all products from China within 10 years after the implementation in return for China removing tariffs on 71 percent of all South Korean products.
South Korea will eliminate tariffs on 92 percent of all goods from China within 20 years after the implementation, while China will abolish tariffs on 91 percent of all South Korean products.
The CMOC said in November 2014 that the agreement will be signed in 2015 and take effect in the second half of the year.