China and South Korea trade talks "settled" South Korea said on Monday it had "effectively settled" terms on a trade pact with China, and expected to confirm outstanding technical and legal details by the end of this year. The announcement on a deal to liberalise one of Asia's largest bilateral trading relationships came after a meeting between President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Beijing. It will bring sweeping cuts to tariffs on manufactured goods but there were large exemptions for agricultural products after Seoul came under pressure from farming lobbies. Trade talks between Seoul and Beijing, under way since May 2012, are approaching conclusion amid jostling between the US and China to spearhead competing trade zones in the region. Against that backdrop, South Korea wants to avoid aligning itself with either China - by far its largest trading partner - or the US, on which it relies for protection from nuclear-armed North Korea. A statement from Seoul's trade ministry said the deal would result in annual tariff reductions of $5.4bn, several times larger than the equivalent figures for the trade pacts South Korea signed in recent years with the US and the EU. Within 10 years South Korea intends to grant tariff-free status to goods that currently account for 77 per cent of imports from China by value, while 66 per cent of goods travelling in the opposite direction will be tariff-free. Bilateral trade between the two countries last year was worth $229bn. However, Choi Won-mok, a professor at Ewha Women's University, said some "sensitive" agricultural products had been dropped from the agreement. "The scope is narrower than expected," he said. Officials had hoped to conclude negotiations by the end of this year and Seoul said it hoped to have inked a draft agreement by that point. There was no announcement from the Chinese government but state news agency Xinhua said both sides "had confirmed the conclusion of substantive negotiations." Kwon Young-sun, an economist at Nomura, said he expected a final agreement to be signed in the first half of next year, and to enter into force in 2016 following full ratification. He warned the deal could prove controversial in South Korea, as with the pacts with the US and EU. "Past experience suggests that it will take time for the benefits to be felt, as often the negative side-effects such as job losses in less competitive sectors are felt first," he said. China and Australia set to sign trade deal China is set to agree a free trade deal with Australia early next week that will cut tariffs on the export of certain products and relax restrictions on investment between the countries, writes Jamie Smyth in Sydney. Trade experts say an agreement would provide a multibillion-dollar boost to bilateral trade between the two nations, which was worth A$129.5bn last year. "Agriculture and services exports are big areas of interest for Australia in a deal while China wants a liberalisation of foreign investment rules for private companies and state-owned enterprises," said James Laurenceson, deputy director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology, Sydney. China overtook Japan as Australia's largest trade partner in 2007 because of surging demand for iron ore and coal to power the Chinese economy. Since taking power last year Tony Abbott, Australia's prime minister, has made it a priority to agree a trade deal to stimulate export growth, particularly in the agricultural and services sectors. Talks on an agreement began in 2005 and involve 11,000 tariff lines, and Australian and Chinese officials have both signalled that an agreement is likely when President Xi Jinping makes a state visit to Australia next Monday in the wake of the G20 summit in Brisbane at the weekend. "I think it is very much on track for success in the next few days," said Mr Abbott on Monday at the Apec summit in Beijing. Still a few things to finalise, but I think very much on track for success in the next few days.