BEIJING — China is ready to work together with Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) to speed up negotiations on a China-Japan-ROK free trade agreement and strive to achieve substantive results as early as possible, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Nov 19.

China is willing to make full use of existing resources and maintain consultations and communication with its two counterparts via video conferences, teleconferences and other means, MOC spokesperson Gao Feng told a regular news briefing.

The signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership has created conditions conducive to speeding up the negotiations, Gao said.

To date, a total of 16 rounds of talks have been held since the free trade agreement negotiation was launched in November 2012.

The three sides have exchanged views on goods trade, services trade, investment and rules, and have made positive progress, according to Gao.