Beijing and Seoul on Monday pledged to push forward free trade negotiations to upgrade cooperation, as President Xi Jinping met with Republic of Korea President Park Geun-hye on the sidelines of the APEC summit.

"Establishing a free trade area between China and the ROK is the most important issue in current Beijing-Seoul economic ties," Xi said.

"China hopes that both countries can actively advance the negotiation process and reach a high-level Free Trade Agreement that guarantees the general balance of mutual interest as soon as possible."