Japan, China, S. Korea to hold FTA talks

TOKYO, Aug 27 (KUNA) -- Japan, China and South Korea will hold a fresh round of negotiations for a three-way free trade agreement (FTA) in Beijing from Sept. 1, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
The fifth round of FTA negotiations, which will last for five days, are expected to cover various areas, such as trade in goods and services, investment, competition policies, intellectual property, the ministry said.
The Japan-China-Korea FTA will stimulate the three countries' economic growth while contributing to regional integration. The negotiations began in 2012, with the last session held in Seoul in March, where the three parties failed to agree on guidelines for removing tariffs. The trilateral agreement, if realized, will create one of the world's largest markets as the three countries jointly account for 20 percent of the global gross domestic product and 17.5 percent of global trade. (end) mk.gta