But he himself failed in efforts to secure a free trade agreement with South Korea. And he made little progress in his push to get China to let the value of its currency rise.

但他本人未能敲定韩美自由贸易协定，同时在推动人民币升值问题上也进展甚微。

youdao

On March 26, representatives of Japan, China, and Korea met in Seoul for the first negotiation aimed at reaching a tri-lateral free trade agreement.

FORBES: Connect

Translation: Japan should give priority to and focus first on the talks being promoted by Beijing to create a regional Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which would closely bind China, Japan, and Korea.

FORBES: China, TPP and Japan's Future in Asia