Korea will hold its first round of negotiations with China on the bilateral free trade agreement next Thursday in Beijing, Seoul’s Trade Ministry said Friday.

The two sides will set the detailed rules on how to proceed with the negotiations and exchange views on the scope and coverage of the FTA at the meeting next week, the ministry said in a statement.

They also plan to discuss how to organize the negotiation working groups, exchange trade statistics and information related to tariff rates and future negotiation schedules.

The Korean delegation, led by the country’s chief FTA negotiator Choi Seok-young, will consist of officials from the ministries of finance, agriculture and knowledge economy.

The Chinese negotiating team will be headed by Assistance Minister of Commerce Yu Jianhua.

The two countries announced the beginning of FTA negotiations on Wednesday after seven years of preparations.

(sophie@heraldcorp.com)