China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) have initiated the non-government joint study on the feasibility of free trade agreement (FTA), announced Wang Mengkui, director of the Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC) Monday.

Wang Mengkui and Kyung Tae Lee, President of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), signed a memorandum for joint study Sunday in Beijing.

In 2004, China and ROK reached a consensus to develop non-government joint study on the feasibility of the FTA and designated DRC and KIEP for the project.

China and ROK witnessed rapid growth in trade in recent years. In 2004, the trade between two countries hit around 90 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 42.4 percent. China is ROK's largest trade partner while ROK is China's fourth largest trade partner.

The launch of the joint study demonstrates the common aspiration of the two countries for further economic and trade development, said Wang.