First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development and Trade Stepan Kubiv has proposed to Vice-Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Liu He to commence joint consultations about the possible creation of a free trade area (FTA).

"I have offered Vice-Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Liu He to start joint Ukrainian-Chinese consultations on the prerequisites for creating a Ukraine-China free trade area," he wrote on his Facebook page, following a meeting with Liu He during his working visit to Beijing (China) on Thursday.

According to a posting on the website of the Economic Development and Trade Ministry, after a long interruption in the work of the intergovernmental commission on cooperation between Ukraine and China, its activities were resumed, which favored increased trade and cooperation between enterprises of the two countries.

"However, this volume of trade does not correspond to the existing potential. In the next five years, we can increase trade turnover to $20 billion a year," the ministry said, citing Kubiv as saying.

As reported, trade turnover between Ukraine and China in January-August 2018, compared with the same period last year, grew by 21%, to $5.8 billion.