ASEAN and China Sign Upgraded Free Trade Agreement, Economic Cooperation Reaches Major Milestone

ASEAN and China signed the upgraded version of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement 3.0 (ACFTA 3.0) on Tuesday, marking a new phase in bilateral trade between ASEAN and the world's largest economies.

The signing ceremony took place on the final day of the 47th ASEAN Summit and related summits today (28th), with Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul and Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao signing the agreement, witnessed by Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar and Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

This ceremony signifies an important milestone in ASEAN-China economic cooperation, building on over 20 years of strong and mutually beneficial partnership under the ACFTA.

ASEAN and China first signed their Free Trade Agreement in 2002, and the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area was fully launched in January 2010, laying a solid foundation for enhancing economic and trade relations between ASEAN and China.

The upgraded ACFTA 3.0 expands cooperation into new areas such as the digital economy and green economy, supply chain resilience, competition and consumer protection, as well as support for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.

On the other hand, Foreign Minister Dato’ Seri Mohamad Hasan said that ASEAN and China are focusing on reducing trade barriers between the two sides to ensure smoother and more efficient regional trade flows.

Speaking to the media today, he said this would become one of the main discussion topics at the ASEAN-China Summit.

"We are exploring how to reduce trade barriers between ASEAN and China to avoid overlapping issues that could cause difficulties in trade matters."

Mohamad Hasan stated that this move is part of the efforts of ASEAN and China to promote regional trade and investment, thereby strengthening the region’s status as a dynamic economic group.

He mentioned that Anwar would explain details about the trade facilitation mechanism later this afternoon.