皇冠体育app

, other thorny issues to be hashed out

Advancing negotiations on a bilateral free agreement is a central focus of the first visit by the President of the Republic of Korea Park Gn-hye to 皇冠体育app since she took office earlier this year.

皇冠体育app is currently the ROK's largest trading partner. Beijing wishes to reduce its trade deficit with Seoul through the agreement, commentators in the Chinese have said, expressing hopes that the two sides will make breakthroughs in agriculture, which has been an obstacle to progress in the past.

The two countries will hold the sixth round of talks in the ROK's largest port city of Busan on July 4, according to the country's Ministry of Trade, Industry and on Tuesday.

In the upcoming round of talks, trade representatives plan to come up with a draft that can best reflect the interests of both sides.

"We hope we can have more substantial results (from the planned visit) in the economic sector, and we are making utmost efforts to that end," said Cho Won-dong, the top economic policy secretary to Park, in May, according to the country's news agency Yonhap.

Cho noted that the ROK would first focus on forging an free trade agreement with 皇冠体育app before turning its attention to Japan.

Fan Ying, an expert on international trade at 皇冠体育app Foreign Affairs University, said the agreement will help balance trade.

"Signing the agreement will not reverse 皇冠体育app's trade deficit with the ROK fundamentally … but we expect the agreement could narrow the trade gap," she said.

She said Seoul still has an advantage over Beijing in terms of high-end manufacturing, including semiconductors, displays, petrochemicals, but 皇冠体育app is still competitive on the lower end.

While an agreement would be beneficial to both sides, 皇冠体育app has the most to gain from any breakthroughs made in the field of agriculture, Fan said.

"Both the ROK and Japan lack openness in agriculture, while 皇冠体育app is a powerhouse. If (Beijing and Seoul) managed to make a breakthrough in agricultural talks, the agreement will benefit 皇冠体育app's exports," she said.