BEIJING, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Strategic guidelines for lowering trade barriers between China and South Korea were signed Saturday in Beijing, South Korean officials said.
The strategy, signed by South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and Chinese counterpart Chen Deming, is aimed at stepping up efforts to establish a free trade agreement between the two Asian manufacturing powerhouses, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
Kim and Chen also agreed to seek ways to more than double their bilateral trade to $300 billion by 2015, and to also seek more investment activity between the two countries. Yonhap said 23 key industries, including technology, finance, auto, shipyard and agricultural sectors, would be the focus of the proposed investments.
While Seoul currently has free trade agreements with Chile, Singapore, and the European Free Trade Association, it has failed to sign such deals with China and Japan, two of its closest neighbors, because of economic and political disputes, Yonhap said.
