China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) concluded substantive negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). President Xi Jinping and his ROK counterpart Park Geun-hye confirmed the conclusion of the talks at a meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Beijing. The deal, which the two leaders pledged to finalize before the end of this year, will cover 17 areas including trade in goods and services, investment and trade rules, and topics such as e-commerce and government purchasing, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said. Analysts said it is the first time that China has included government purchasing in a free trade agreement. Of all the FTAs China has signed and is negotiating with individual countries, this is the widest-ranging, with the largest bilateral trade volume, the Ministry said in a statement. Differences remain over a few unspecified details before the agreement can be signed, according to a South Korean government statement. President Park said, “It is a day worth celebrating for both the ROK and China.” The agreement will remove tariffs on more than 90% of goods sold between the two countries over the next two decades. The two nations started the trade talks in May 2012. Park also said she would look at South Korea joining the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a China-led initiative that is widely seen as Beijing’s effort to counter the Washington-backed World Bank and the Japanese-led Asian Development Bank (ADB).