BEIJING, March 27 -- China and New Zealand have held the first round of negotiations on a services trade negative list under their free trade agreement (FTA), China's Ministry of Commerce said Thursday.

The talks, held in Beijing from March 25 to 26, made positive progress and focused on establishing the principles, scope and framework for the negative list negotiations, the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that the two countries will implement important consensus reached by their leaders while actively advancing the negotiation process to elevate bilateral trade and investment cooperation.

The FTA was signed in April 2008 and came into effect in October of the same year. In January 2021, the two sides signed an upgraded protocol to the FTA, further deepening practical cooperation across various sectors.