Trade agreement could boost relations

A free-trade agreement among China, Japan and the Republic of Korea would be a major achievement in trilateral economic integration, but it needs thorough preparation, said a top official from a regional inter-governmental organization.

Negotiations among the countries were expected to begin before the annual summit, but were delayed by Seoul's reluctance, Kyodo News cited a senior official in Tokyo as saying. The parties agreed to hold talks on the agreement by the end of the year.

"The important thing is that all three parties agreed to start negotiations. Whether they start tomorrow or some other time within this year is not so important," Shin Bong-kil, the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat's secretary-general, said on Saturday in an exclusive interview with China Daily.