The signing of the China ROK free trade agreement marks the completion of the institutional design of the construction of the China ROK free trade zone and the beginning of sailing. "The signing of the FTA between China and South Korea and the construction of the FTA in the future are good news for international freight transport." He Dengcai. vice president of China Federation of logistics and procurement. said in an interview with the international business newspaper that the positive impact mainly comes from two aspects: on the one hand. the agreement covers a wide range of contents. and the bilateral reciprocity is strong. which will greatly stimulate bilateral trade and directly promote the growth of international traffic; on the other hand. with the introduction of preferential policies including customs clearance facilitation. it will be significant Improve logistics efficiency and reduce international freight cost.
In the capital market. on the day of the signing of the China South Korea free trade agreement. China's A-share port concept stocks. shipping stocks. air transport stocks. etc. rose sharply. with a number of stocks trading at higher limits. and the port shipping index rose 6.7%.
The port and maritime industry took the lead in benefiting
In 2004. the trade volume between China and South Korea was only US $90 billion. In 2014. it jumped to US $274 billion. In the past 10 years. the trade volume has more than tripled. with an average annual growth rate of 22.3%. China and South Korea face each other across the sea. The mode of international trade logistics is mainly sea transportation. Port throughput and sea cargo transportation volume will be greatly improved. China's near sea transportation will usher in new opportunities for development. "The signing of the FTA between China and South Korea will certainly bring a lot of promotion to the trade development between China and South Korea." In an interview with international business daily. Cheng Xinnong. President of Qingdao port group. said that Qingdao port is the nearest port to South Korea. The establishment of China South Korea Free Trade Zone will make trade between China and South Korea have a new development on the basis of the original. and the cooperation between Qingdao port and South Korea's major ports will be closer. In addition. Qingdao has the advantages of additional policies. environment and functions. Trade between China and South Korea will be more convenient and strengthened.
Huatai Securities also believes that the establishment of China South Korea Free Trade Zone will benefit the port and shipping industry first. China and South Korea have strong comparative advantages in cargo trade. After the free trade zone comes into force. the trade scale is expected to increase significantly. At the same time. most of the cargo trade between China and South Korea is mainly by sea transportation. which leads to the corresponding increase of port throughput and cargo transportation volume by sea.
Justin Kim. head of research and strategy consulting for CBRE South Korea. previously said: "the China South Korea free trade area will create more opportunities for Chinese investors. Considering the export growth of Korean companies to China and the start of business in South Korea by Chinese exporters. it is expected that the demand for modern logistics space will also increase."