Korean, Chinese trade ministers to meet in Beijing

Korean and Chinese trade ministers will meet in Beijing Saturday to settle a trade row over Seoul`s import of Chinese garlic.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Friday that Korea`s trade minister Hwang Doo-Yun would meet with his counterpart, Shi Guangsheng, and discuss various measures to solve the dispute.

The Korean government has already decided to import an additional 10,000 tons of garlic from China by June and informed China of the decision through the Korean ambassador in China recently.

At the Saturday meeting, the two sides are expected to hold an intensive discussion on how the garlic will be imported and at what price.

However, even if an agreement is made at the meeting, domestic disputes over the matter are expected to continue for some time as the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, cell phone exporters and polyethylene manufacturers are wrangling over who will buy the garlic and how to share the cost.

Yonhap