'The 4th Korea-China FTA Joint Committee' Held... Review of Agreement Implementation

4th Korea-China Industry Ministers' Video Conference
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Moon Seung-wook, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, delivers a greeting at the 4th Korea-China Industry Ministers' Meeting held via video conference on the 25th at the Government Complex Sejong, attended by Xiao Yaqing, Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, and delegations from both governments. 2022.1.25 [Provided by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Redistribution and DB reproduction prohibited]
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[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Junhyung] The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 26th that it held the "4th Korea-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Joint Committee" with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce via video conference.

This Joint Committee was organized to review the implementation status of the agreement in various fields such as goods trade, tariffs, intellectual property rights, and trade technical barriers, marking the 8th year since the Korea-China FTA came into effect in 2015. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce evaluated that the Korea-China FTA has played a supporting role in the growth of trade between the two countries. In fact, the Korea-China trade volume increased by 32.6% from 2015, when the FTA took effect, to last year. Last year, the Korea-China trade volume reached an all-time high of $301.5 billion, up 24.8% compared to the previous year.

The committee's main agenda items included ▲stabilization of supply and demand for raw materials and mineral resources ▲smooth operation of tariff rate quota (TRQ) system ▲enhancement of customs cooperation ▲discussion of difficulties related to technical regulations ▲activation of cultural exchanges. In particular, cooperation measures to respond to global supply chain instability and to promote cultural exchanges were discussed intensively.

Both sides agreed on the necessity of cooperation to respond to supply instability of key raw materials and mineral resources. This is because both sides agreed to cooperate to minimize supply chain disruptions by, for example, notifying the other party in advance in case of energy and mineral resource export restrictions under World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations. In addition, measures to facilitate smooth supply chains such as ▲support for entry and exit of business personnel ▲establishment of maritime logistics networks ▲customs cooperation and activation of personnel and logistics movement were discussed.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy requested the Chinese government’s interest in domestic cultural content in celebration of the Korea-China Year of Cultural Exchange from this year through next year. To this end, measures to expand the entry of domestic cultural content into China were proposed, including ▲release of Korean films ▲broadcasting of Korean TV content ▲issuance of new licenses for Korean games. Issues related to copyright infringement of domestic content such as movies and dramas were also discussed. The Ministry requested cooperation from the Chinese side to strengthen intellectual property rights (IPR) protection.

The number of items listed per certificate of origin, which was previously limited to 20, will be increased to unlimited. Kim Jongcheol, Director General of the Trade Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Chen Ning, Vice President of the International Department, who served as chief representatives of both sides at the Joint Committee, signed an amendment deleting the item limiting the number of items listed per certificate of origin. The amendment will take effect 90 days after signing is completed. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, this amendment is expected to simplify administrative procedures for receiving FTA tariff benefits and improve convenience for exporters in both countries.

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