HONG KONG: China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have completed negotiations to further refine their free trade area to include the digital and green economy and other new industries, China’s commerce ministry said on Wednesday (May 21).
ASEAN, made up of 10 Southeast Asian countries, is China’s largest trading partner, with the value of total trade reaching US$234 billion in the first quarter of 2025, according to Chinese customs data.
The so-called 3.0 version of the free trade area will “inject greater certainty into regional and global trade and play a leading and exemplary role for countries to adhere to openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation,” the statement said.
Negotiations began in November 2022, and the agreement covers areas including the digital economy, green economy, and supply chain connectivity, the statement said.
The pact will “promote the deep integration of the production and supply chains of both sides”, it added.
China has intensified engagement with ASEAN since US President Donald Trump announced hefty import tariffs on countries around the world and targeted China with even heavier levies. Some of the levies have since been delayed while China and the US agreed this month to pause some of their tariffs.
President Xi Jinping took a three-nation tour of Southeast Asia in April to consolidate ties with some of China’s closest neighbours, calling on Asian nations to unite against what he called geopolitical confrontation, unilateralism and protectionism.
The formal signing of the trade agreement is expected to take place before the end of the year. The ASEAN-China Free Trade Area was first signed in 2002 and came into force on Jan 1, 2010.
Source: CNA
