On May 20th, the special meeting of economic and trade ministers between China and ASEAN was held online. The economic and trade ministers of both sides jointly announced the full completion of the negotiations on the 3.0 version of the China-Asean Free Trade Area.
The 3.0 version negotiations were initiated in November 2022 and, after nearly two years and nine rounds of formal negotiations, were substantially concluded in October 2024. Under the full coordination and joint promotion of the economic and trade ministers of various countries, the two sides have fully completed the negotiations and taken another crucial step towards the goal of signing the upgraded protocol.
Version 3.0 will send out a strong voice of maintaining free trade and open cooperation. China and ASEAN are each other’s largest trading partners and important investment partners, and both are firm supporters of economic globalization and multilateralism. The construction of version 3.0, as a priority of economic and trade cooperation between the two sides, is a landmark achievement of jointly maintaining and deepening free trade by both sides. Under the circumstances where global economy and trade are facing major challenges, the two sides have fully completed negotiations, which conforms to the general trend of world development, demonstrates the strong vitality of free trade and open cooperation, will inject greater certainty into regional and global trade, and play a leading and exemplary role for all countries in adhering to openness, inclusiveness, cooperation and win-win.
Version 3.0 will create an inclusive, modern, comprehensive and mutually beneficial free trade agreement. Version 3.0 includes nine new chapters such as digital economy, green economy, supply chain interconnection, standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, customs procedures and trade facilitation, health and phytosanitary measures, competition and consumer protection, small, medium and micro enterprises, and economic and technological cooperation. It is conducive to both sides promoting regional economic integration in broader fields and at a deeper level under the new situation. It will effectively promote the in-depth integration of the production and supply chains of both sides and has significant pioneering significance.
Version 3.0 will strongly promote the building of the China-Asean community with a shared future. As two major developing economies, China and ASEAN, through the construction of the 3.0 version of the Free Trade Area, jointly expand mutual opening up and comprehensively expand cooperation in emerging fields and new quality productive forces. This will provide an important institutional guarantee for promoting the building of a super-large market between China and ASEAN, and provide lasting impetus for promoting the building of a community with a shared future between China and ASEAN and facilitating common prosperity and development of both sides.
Next, both sides will actively promote the signing and ratification procedures within their respective countries and strive to officially sign the Protocol to Upgrade the China-Asean Free Trade Area Version 3.0 before the end of the year.
Post time: May-21-2025