South Korea’s Trade Ministry made clear Monday that the country will prioritize bilateral free trade negotiations with China this year over the multilateral Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Inaugurating a trade promotion committee, the ministry said in a press release that the government “will first push for a South Korea-China FTA as a bridgehead for expanding presence in Chinese markets, while considering joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”

China is South Korea’s biggest trade partner but is not a party to talks to form the TPP, a U.S.-led free-trade bloc involving 12 countries in Asia-Pacific that make up 40% of the global economy. The pact aims to boost growth by reducing or eliminating tariffs and establishing new rules of the road in areas as diverse as intellectual property, labor, and government’s role in private enterprise.