On April 12, the 15th round of negotiations of China-Japan-ROK FTA was held in Tokyo, Japan. Assistant Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang, Ambassador for International Economic Affairs of Japan Takehiro Kagawa, and Deputy Minister for Trade Negotiations of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea Yeo Han Koo led their own delegations to attend the negotiations. In this round of negotiations, the three parties exchanged in-depth views on important issues such as trade in goods, trade in services, investment and rules, and made positive progress.

This round of negotiations is the first one after the three parties reached a consensus on comprehensive speed-up negotiations. The three parties held a meeting of the chief negotiators, director generals’ consultation and 13 sub-conferences on specific topics, reached positive consensuses on the methods and paths for the negotiation of relevant issues, and clarified the work arrangements for the next step. The three parties unanimously agreed to further increase the level of trade and investment liberalization based on the consensus reached in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) in which the three parties all participated, and to incorporate high-standard rules to create a RCEP Plus free trade agreement.

The China-Japan-ROK FTA negotiation is one of the FTA negotiations that China has participated in and that has the largest economic volume and the highest proportion in China’s foreign trade. In November 2018, President Xi Jinping stated in the keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the first China International Import Expo that the negotiation process of the China-Japan-ROK FTA should be accelerated. The 7th China-Japan-ROK leaders’ meeting held in Japan in May 2018 issued a joint declaration reaffirming that the China-Japan-ROK FTA negotiations would be further accelerated and endeavors would be made to reach a comprehensive, high-level, mutually beneficial free trade agreement with its own value.