(MENAFN) China said that it has decided to speed up its free trade agreement (FTA) talks with the six GCC members, Emirates 24/7 reported.
China said that it had originally started free trade talks with the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, in 2004, with the country saying that such a deal would help it cut costs on energy imports from the region.
"GCC countries consider China as a major market for their petrochemical products, and this (FTA) will assist those nations in their industrial development," Head of the Commerce Ministry's International Trade and Economic Affairs Department was quoted as saying.
China has previously this year inked major free trade agreements with Australia and South Korea, and already has deals with a number of other countries, including Costa Rica, Peru, New Zealand and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
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