FTA-to-reshape-Sino-Korea-relations

[amoy]

FTA to reshape Sino-Korea relations

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2015-01/26/content_19405090_2.htm


The-FTA between South-Korea-and-China-is-likely-to-diversify-South-Korean-trade-and-put pressure-on-Japan-to-register-some-progress-in-the-China-Japan-South-Korea-FTA-initiative. Negotiations-on-that-started-in-2012-but-have-made-limited-progress.-Given-the-similarity-in industrial-structure-and-economic-specialization-between-South-Korea-and-Japan,-the-China-South-Korea-FTA-is-likely-to-divert-trade-away-from-Japan.

South-Korean-car-makers-are-direct-competitors-of-Japanese-manufacturers.-Pricing strategies-and-the-quality-of-cars-from-South-Korean-brands-such-as Hyundai-and-Kia-are very-similar-to-those-of-Toyota-and-Honda.-South-Korean car-makers-have-taken-a significantly-larger-share-of-the-Chinese-market-than-their-Japanese-peers.-Specifically, motor-vehicle-sales-of-Hyundai-Kia-Group-in-China-reached 1.58-million-units-in-2013,-ranked No-2-among-all-foreign-car-brands following Volkswagen,-while-those-of-Toyota-and-Nissan combined amounted-to-only-1.69-million-units.-As-a-result,-China's-current-tariffs-of 25 percent-and-10-percent-for-motor-vehicles-and-auto-parts,-respectively,-would-put-Japanese car-makers-at-a-great-disadvantage-after-the-China-South-Korea-FTA-takes-effect.

South-Korea-and-Japan-are-also-direct-competitors-in-other-fields,-including-electronics,machinery,-optical-devices-and-consumer-products.-That-would-push-Japan-to-be-more active-in-advancing-China-Japan-South-Korea-FTA-negotiations-with-pressure-from-the China-South-Korea-FTA.

The-agreement-between-Beijing-and-Seoul-could-also-help-promote-and-mold-growth-through the-Regional-Comprehensive-Economic-Partnership-initiated-by-the-10-countries-of-the Association-of-Southeast-Asian-Nations.

The-partnership-aims-to-establish-a-regional-FTA by-China,-Japan,-South-Korea,-Australia, New-Zealand,-India-and-ASEAN-by-the-end-of-this-year.-China-has-been-playing-an-importantrole-in-RCEP-negotiations.-RCEP-covers-a-total-population-of-3.5-billion-with-an-aggregate GDP-of-$23-trillion,-accounting-for-one-third-of-the-world's-total.



~~Still waters run deep. ~~from my MiPad using tapatalk

 

[redragon]

I want to know how Taiwanese feel about this, they were shameless and asked Mainland not to sign it with Korean.

 

[Tshering22]

Personally I don't think that the Koreans have anything hostile against China.

If CCP starts supporting Seoul instead of Pyongyang, I think that would further boost the ties between the two countries. AFAIK both Koreas and China are united when it comes to opposing Japan.

 

[amoy]

Now that China + Korea take the lead in striking a deal, not losing sight of the big picture of a CJK FTA hope this is to nudge Japan to narrow down its differences with China and Korea to make the C-J-K FTA complete. Otherwise S. Korea would be overwhelming in the trade of cars, electronics,machinery, optical-devices and consumer products to China thanks to the tariff cuts.

The more competition the more merry.! It's no good for Korean products to edge out not only Japanese but also Taiwanese.

BTW S.Korea is flooding Chinese with mindless entertainment, which is far far less "classy" than Japanese.

The vision - CJK trilateral FTA

 

[Compersion]

why there is no fta between north korea and others. why there is no nixon moment with north korea and others (with russia in the background).

seriously what about north korea. why PRC taking the whole pie and eating it on its own. why japan, south korea and taiwan totally ignore north korea - are north koreans that despicable and intolerable to do international trade - why such a position.

sometimes feel sorry for north korea. they really can make a big difference to that region if they make the right positive moves.

 

[karn]

Now that China + Korea take the lead in striking a deal, not losing sight of the big picture of a CJK FTA hope this is to nudge Japan to narrow down its differences with China and Korea to make the C-J-K FTA complete. Otherwise S. Korea would be overwhelming in the trade of cars, electronics,machinery, optical-devices and consumer products to China thanks to the tariff cuts.

The more competition the more merry.! It's no good for Korean products to edge out not only Japanese but also Taiwanese.

BTW S.Korea is flooding Chinese with mindless entertainment, which is far far less "classy" than Japanese.

The vision - CJK trilateral FTA

I have no illusions..... K Pop and K drama have take over the world ... Gangnam style was just the beginning

 

[amoy]

I have no illusions..... K Pop and K drama have take over the world ... Gangnam style was just the beginning

u'd feel the same way as I do when every channel is occupied by K!

 

[amoy]

China, South Korea sign FTA deal
China and South Korea on Monday formally signed the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), sharing views that the free trade pact will serve as an all-round cooperative platform for both countries to seek new growth engines.

The two commerce ministers exchanged views on various issues, including a regional economic integration via the trilateral FTA between Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Under the China-South Korea free trade deal, South Korea will eliminate tariffs on 92 percent of all products from China within 20 years after the implementation, in return for China abolishing tariffs on 91 percent of all South Korean goods.

The two countries agreed to resume negotiations about the services sector within two years after the FTA comes into force to seek an opportunity for further liberalization of the sector.

Also, a total of 310 products manufactured in the Kaesong Industrial Complex would be subject to preferential tariffs right after the FTA implementation, allowing for more benefits to the inter-Korean industrial park than any other free trade pacts that South Korea has signed.

The industrial zone is located in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong, north of the heavily fortified inter-Korean land border. About 120 South Korean companies are running factories there, hiring some 53,000 DPRK workers.

South Korea expected the bilateral FTA to raise its real GDP by 0.96 percentage points and create 53,800 new jobs in the next 10 years after the implementation. The FTA was forecast to help South Korean companies make foray into the world's largest consumer market.

China's gross domestic product (GDP) amounted 10.4 trillion U.S. dollars in 2014, more than 7 times of South Korea's 1.4 trillion U. S. dollars, according to Seoul's trade ministry. It said that the Chinese economy is one of the world's fastest growing economies with an annual growth rate of more than 7 percent.

Trade between China and South Korea has kept rising to 235.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2014 from 6.4 billion dollars in 1992 when the two countries established diplomatic ties, according to data from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).

China has been South Korea's No.1 trading partner since 2004. South Korea has been China's fourth-largest trade partner since the same year, according to the KITA data.

Now the ball is in Japan's court for fulfillment of the C-J-K trilateral FTA that parallels EU and NAFTA.

 

[amoy]

China, Japan, S Korea to work toward free trade deal
POLITICS NOV. 02, 2015 - 06:54AM JST ( 1 )

SEOUL — The leaders of South Korea, Japan and China pledged to work toward greater economic integration at their first joint meeting in over three years on Sunday, as they work to ease tensions stemming from Japan’s wartime past.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also said they would to resume annual meetings which had been suspended since 2012 amid disagreements over history and territory.

Park said she agreed with Abe and Li to work towards the conclusion of a 16-nation free trade area as well as a separate three-way free trade deal that has been on the table since 2013.

“We agreed to work together for the conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP),” Park told a joint news conference with Li and Abe after the summit.

“We agreed to expand economic and social cooperation for the mutual prosperity of Northeast Asia, and also to strengthen cooperation among the three countries to create new growth momentum.”

China has been a key proponent of RCEP, which would create the world’s biggest free trade bloc of 3.4 billion people.

Negotiators for the 16 countries, which also include India and the 10 states of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) met in Busan, South Korea, last month to discuss market opening and tariff reductions on goods and services.

But progress has been slow for the pact first proposed four years ago even as the U.S.-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact that includes Japan was struck earlier in October.

South Korean and Chinese ties with Japan have been troubled by what they see as repeated failures by leaders in Tokyo to properly atone for wartime atrocities, in particular for Seoul over “comfort women,” as the mostly Korean women forced into prostitution at Japanese military brothels are called.

The meeting is a diplomatic breakthrough for Abe, who had long sought a one-on-one meeting with Park and the resumption of the trilateral summit. The two will hold a bilateral meeting on Monday, the first since both took office.

On Sunday he credited Park for restoring the forum.

“It is a breakthrough for the region and the three countries that we hold this trilateral summit for the first time in three and a half years through the initiative of President Park,” he told the news conference.

“Japan, China and South Korea are neighbors, and because we are neighbors, there are difficult issues among us.”

Li said Japan had yet to do all it can to appease the suspicion held by the two countries that suffered under its wartime aggression about Tokyo’s view on promoting genuine regional cooperation.

“Cooperation should be made on the basis of handling sensitive issues such as history in a proper way and by promoting mutual understanding in Northeast Asia,” Li said at the opening of the three-way summit.

“It is regrettable that even among our three very close countries, there cannot be a deeper understanding among us.”

Sunday’s meeting highlighted a balancing act Park faced between her country’s rapidly developing ties with Beijing and U.S. pressure to mend relations with Tokyo, Washington’s key Asian ally in the face of an increasingly assertive China.

It also afforded Park an opportunity to be seen addressing issues of regional interest that included tackling North Korea’s arms program.

The leaders in a joint statement reaffirmed “firm opposition to the development of nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula,” referring to North Korea’s pursuit of atomic weapons in the face of international sanctions and condemnation.

There was no mention by the leaders of tensions in the South China Sea where a U.S. destroyer sailed close to one of Beijing’s man-made islands in the most significant U.S. challenge yet to territorial claims by China in the Spratly archipelago.

 

[amoy]

South Korea New Visa to Attract Big Chinese Spenders
December 16, 2016 12:57

The government hopes to attract a better class of repeat visitor from China with a new five-year multiple-entry visa for tourists who buy more expensive package tours.

A government official said Thursday that the visa is aimed at discouraging cut-price package tours and will be available for those who spend more than W3 million on their tour (US$1=W1,180).

Most Chinese visitors currently come on single-entry visas, are herded around shopping destinations and never come again. But from next year Chinese tourists with the new multiple-entry visas can stay in Korea for up to 30 days at a time and take a more leisurely approach.

The number of Chinese tourists surpassed 100 million last year and is expected to reach 200 million by 2020.

The U.S. and European countries are also trying hard to attract more Chinese tourists because they spend more than 100 trillion a year on overseas travel annually.

Korea's tourism industry is increasingly dependent on Chinese visitors. Eight million are expected to visit Korea this year, accounting for around half of all foreign visitors.

The government aims to issue around 300,000 of the new visas next year and 1 million by 2020, when their holders are expected to account for 10 percent of all Chinese visitors to Korea. "If well-off Chinese tourists visit Korea and open their wallets, the Korean economy could get a strong boost," a government spokesman said.

Japan saw 5.5 million Chinese visitors in the first 10 months of this year after streamlining the visa application process and expanding the lineup of duty-free products from clothes and cosmetics to daily necessities.

Thailand, which attracted 7.9 million Chinese visitors last year, is also coming up with more upscale travel packages and began issuing six-month, multiple-entry visas for Chinese tourists. France streamlined its tax refund process aiming to attract 5 million Chinese visitors.

Kim Sang-tae of the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute said, "We can't immediately relax the existing visa scheme because a lot of Chinese come here on cut-price packages and stay on illegally, but we need to make visas easier to promote the tourism industry."