Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim were present at the signing ceremony.
China today signed an expanded version of a bilateral FTA with the ASEAN bloc in Kuala Lumpur ahead of the 28th China-ASEAN Summit. The agreement includes sections on digital economy, green economy, standards, supply chain interconnectivity, competition and consumer protection, MSMEs and other new industries. The FTA entered into force in 2010. Version 2.0 of the protocol was signed in 2015.
The agreement includes sections on the digital economy; green economy; standards; supply chain interconnectivity; competition and consumer protection; and micro, small and medium enterprises; and other new industries.
ASEAN is China’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $771 billion last year.
The upgrade is widely perceived by global media as a move by China to counter the high and unreasonable import tariffs imposed by the US administration on countries around the world.
The upgraded agreement “fully reflects the solemn commitment of the two sides to jointly support multilateralism and free trade,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
Talks on the so-called version 3.0 of the agreement began in November 2022 and concluded in May of this year. The FTA entered into force in 2010. Version 2.0 of the protocol was signed in 2015 and entered into force in 2019.
Li told an ASEAN-China summit after the signing that closer cooperation could help overcome global economic uncertainties. He said that “seeking confrontation instead of solidarity brings no benefit” in the face of economic coercion and harassment.
Following the signing, China and ASEAN member states will proceed with their respective internal approval procedures to ensure that the protocol enters into force as soon as possible.
Fiber2Fashion News Desk (DS)
