China, South Korea Reach Free-trade Agreement

South Korea and China have reached a free-trade agreement which would eliminate most tariffs between the pair, as the two countries' leaders held talks in Beijing on Monday during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, various reports said. South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping were scheduled to sign the agreement later in the day, Reuters quoted a South Korean spokesman as saying. Under the proposed agreement, the two nations would remove import tariffs on 90% of all products on bilateral trade, according to South Korea's official Yonhap news agency. China is South Korea's top trading partner, with bilateral trade accounting for 21% of South Korea's total trade volume in 2013.