Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng and Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan yesterday announced the successful end to two years of FTA negotiations during the 5th meeting of the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC).

The high-powered JCBC sets the agenda for economic cooperation between the two countries.

Both sides had held eight rounds of talks to hammer out the trade deal since negotiations began in October 2006. The eighth and final round of FTA talks took place from Monday to Wednesday(sept1 to 3) in Beijing, even as high-level Singapore and Chinese delegations held separate meetings in Tianjin.

The formal signing of the pact is expected to take place next month (oct) when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong attends the 7th Asia Europe Meeting Summit in Beijing.

The deal is a 'major achievement' and a 'new milestone'' in Singapore's long and established relationship with China which took root before diplomatic ties were officially established in 1990, said DPM Wong.

Citing two bilateral flagship projects, the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) and the Tianjin eco-city, Mr Wong said: 'This long-term relationship has been concretised in many ways apart from growing markets and access... the FTA further strengthens our relations.''

The pact, he added, will result in 'liberalisation, the lowering of tariffs for many items, goods, services, investments, and so on'.

Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.