The government will exert further support for small- and mid-sized firms making strides to advance into China as Monday marked 100 days since the South Korea-China free trade agreement(FTA) took effect.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on Tuesday that part of the support measures will include setting up so-called “China Desks” in 13 cities and provinces across the nation to provide consulting on ways to utilize the Seoul-Beijing deal.

The China Desks will help small firms develop ways to export to China and provide assistance on export-related obstacles, including nontariff barriers.

The stations will be staffed with officials from trade-related agencies, including the Korea International Trade Association(KITA) and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, as well as tariff experts and lawyers.

The ministry has been operating a China Desk at KITA’s Seoul office since March last year. It decided to expand the number of stations to other cities and provinces that house branch offices of the association after the one in Seoul became flooded with inquiries following the accord’s effectuation last December.