Trade volume between China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) is likely to exceed US$150 billion in 2007, according to Zhang Wei, vice president of the China Council for the promotion of International Trade.

Both sides had hoped bilateral trade volume would reach US$200 billion by 2012 and the goal would be achieved ahead of time, Zhang told a seminar on investment in the ROK held Friday.

Last year, China-ROK trade volume reached US$134.3 billion, increasing by almost 26 times from more than US$5 billion in 1992, when the two countries established diplomatic ties.

The ROK has become China's sixth largest trade partner after the European Union, the United States, Japan, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), and the Hong Kong region. China is the ROK's No 1 trade partner and export market.