South Korea, China Agree To Sign Deal To Institute Free Trade

South Korea says it has agreed to sign a free trade deal with China that will remove tariffs on more than 90 percent of goods over two decades but won't include rice or autos. The announcement from South Korea's presidential office Monday came after South Korean President Park Geun-hye met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit being held in Beijing. Negotiators held a 14th round of trade talks before Xi and Park met but failed to resolved outstanding issues. A statement from South Korea's presidential office said Xi and Park declared that the agreement was now "virtually" reached. Xi said negotiations had made "significant progress." Two-way trade between China and South Korea was $229 billion in 2013. The deal covers 22 areas including finance and online commerce. South Korea said it was the first time for China to include finance, telecommunications and e-commerce industries in a free trade deal. South Korea's rice industry will not be included in the trade deal but trade in 70 percent of agricultural goods will be liberalized.