South Korea yesterday accorded China full market economy status to protect Chinese exports from anti-dumping duties.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun announced this at a joint news conference after 90 minutes of talks with President Hu Jintao.

Hu expressed his appreciation, saying the move would strongly push forward economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

China is South Korea's largest trading partner, with trade volume expected to reach US$100 billion this year and hit US$200 billion in 2012.

Under the terms of China's 2001 accession to the World Trade Organization, members of the trade body can treat China as a "non-market economy" until 2016.

So far, 43 nations have recognized China as a full market economy but the country's major trade partners including the US, the EU and Japan have yet to do so.

The non-market economy status has left China a victim of rampant anti-dumping measures imposed by other WTO members, which often use production costs in other countries to evaluate whether Chinese exports are dumped or unfairly priced.

Hu arrived in Seoul yesterday for a two-day state visit on the heels of a week-long European tour that took him to Britain, Germany and Spain. He will attend a meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Busan tomorrow and on Saturday.

In a written statement upon his arrival, Hu said the fast growth in cooperation between China and South Korea has contributed to regional peace and development.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries 13 years ago, partnership in all fields has grown rapidly, Hu said.

This has brought tangible benefits to the peoples of both countries, he said.

During their talks, Hu and Roh expressed a common commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula by calling for more flexibility in dealing with the nuclear standoff there.

They said a statement signed at the fourth-round six-party talks in Beijing in September was a "foundation" for ending the stalemate.

"Both sides shared the view that each party to the talks should show sincere flexibility on its position, and implement the statement in order to ensure continued progress in the talks," they said in a joint statement after the summit.

The six-party talks, which also include the US, Japan, Russia and North Korea, produced an agreement in September under which Pyongyang would give up all nuclear programs in exchange for security guarantees and energy assistance.

However, North Korea is demanding that it be given a light-water reactor for power generation before it dismantles its atomic projects.

At the first phase of the fifth-round six-party talks in Beijing last week, the six nations pledged to continue pushing ahead with diplomatic efforts and enter a second phase "at the earliest possible date."

(China Daily November 17, 2005)