The upgraded version of the China ASEAN Free Trade Area is worth looking forward to

The 27th China ASEAN (10+1) Leaders' Meeting recently announced that the negotiations for upgrading the China ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 have come to a substantive end. From the establishment of the free trade zone by both sides in 2010 to the full implementation of the 2.0 version of the free trade agreement in 2019, and then to the upcoming construction of the 3.0 version of the free trade zone, China ASEAN cooperation has continuously improved and upgraded, and the future is worth looking forward to.

This achievement was not easily obtained. Since the official launch of the 3.0 version upgrade negotiations in November 2022, after nearly two years, 9 rounds of formal negotiations, and over 100 working group meetings, both sides have achieved fruitful results in 9 areas, including the existing areas of the China ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, as well as emerging areas such as digital economy, green economy, supply chain connectivity, customs procedures and trade facilitation, competition and consumer protection, and economic and technological cooperation. The upgraded achievements will comprehensively expand mutually beneficial cooperation in emerging fields, strengthen the integration and interoperability of standards and regulations, promote trade facilitation and inclusive development on the basis of the existing China ASEAN Free Trade Agreement and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

This is a wise move of mutual benefit and win-win, which is of great significance to the economic development of both sides. Thanks to the vigorous development of the Free Trade Zone, China has maintained its position as the largest trading partner of ASEAN for 15 consecutive years, and ASEAN has become China's largest trading partner for 4 consecutive years. In the first eight months of this year, ASEAN remained China's largest trading partner, with China's imports and exports to ASEAN increasing by 10% year-on-year, 4 percentage points faster than China's overall foreign trade growth rate, and accounting for over 15% of China's overall foreign trade. On the basis of previous fruitful achievements, the upgrading of the free trade zone will provide strong institutional guarantees for both sides to jointly build a super large scale market, further promote the prosperous development of trade between the two sides, bring more opportunities for cooperation and stronger and more sustainable development momentum.

What is worth looking forward to in this upgrade is that there have been many groundbreaking explorations, especially reflected in the two 'firsts'. Firstly, both sides have reached the highest level chapters on digital economy, green economy, and supply chain connectivity in their respective economic and trade agreements for the first time, which will promote the digital and green transformation of both sides. The second is to establish a special chapter on competition and consumer protection for the first time, set up a special committee, strengthen cooperation in competition legislation and law enforcement, promote cross-border consumption between the two sides, better protect the rights and interests of enterprises and consumers, and create a fair competition market environment for economic and trade exchanges between the two sides. These innovative measures will undoubtedly enhance the level of free trade between China and ASEAN, and have a demonstrative and leading role in similar cooperation between China, ASEAN, and other trading partners in the future.

Against the backdrop of current turmoil and rising protectionism, China and ASEAN have reached a consensus on upgrading the free trade zone, demonstrating their firm determination to uphold multilateralism and free trade. As UN Secretary General Guterres has stated, this upgrade will promote global free trade and economic growth. We look forward to China and ASEAN joining hands to make more contributions to regional stability and global economic recovery. (Author: Xu Xu Source: Economic Daily)