China inks trade deal with Iceland

China and Iceland Monday signed a free trade agreement in Beijing that is to prove especially profitable for the crisis-shaken island in terms of its sea food exports. "The China-Iceland free trade agreement is the first one between China and a European country," Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency. Li, who witnessed the signing with visiting Icelandic PrimeMinister Johanna Sigurdardottir, said he believed the pact would lead to the further development of economic relations between China and Europe. Trade between the world's second-largest economy and Iceland grew 21.1 per cent in 2012 during the previous year to 180 million dollars, according to Xinhua. Iceland was hoping the agreement, which was inked after six years of negotiations, would help it emerge from its 2008 economic collapse, when its three largest banks defaulted on their debts.