South Korea and China held high-level economic talks Wednesday as they seek to capitalize on their free trade agreement (FTA) that took effect last year, a key framework to boost bilateral economic cooperation.
South Korean Second Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Gao Yan led the joint economic committee session to discuss the implementation of the bilateral open trade pact and recent trends in the global economy and the economies of the two countries. 
In their opening remarks, the senior officials painted a positive outlook for bilateral economic cooperation, underscoring the FTA, which was effectuated in December, marked a milestone in the two countries' economic ties, Yonhap news agency reported. 
The joint economic committee was launched in 1993 shortly after the sides established diplomatic ties and has met on a regular basis at the vice ministerial level. Wednesday's meeting was the 21st round. 
China is the world's single largest importer of South Korean goods, accounting for nearly one-fourth of South Korea's total outbound shipments.