According to Chinanews, at a press conference to inform about the economic and trade cooperation between ASEAN and China; the 20th ASEAN-China Expo (CAEXPO 2023) and the ASEAN-China Business and Investment Summit organized by the State Council Press Office of China on August 25, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Li Fei said that the two sides are actively promoting negotiations on the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) version 3.0 to comprehensively promote the level of economic and trade openness.

Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Li Fei. Photo: Scio.gov.cn

Vice Minister Li Fei said that under the strategic guidance of the leaders of both sides, economic and trade cooperation between the two sides has been upgraded and achieved good results in recent years. In terms of trade, the construction of ACFTA has been promoted, and the positions of China and ASEAN as each other's largest trading partners have been continuously consolidated. In the field of investment, the two sides are currently important investment sources and investment destinations for each other.

ACFTA was initiated in 2000. By 2010, version 1.0 was officially launched with more than 90% of the two sides' export goods enjoying zero tariffs. In 2019, ACFTA was officially upgraded to version 2.0. In November 2022, at the ASEAN-China Summit, the two sides announced the launch of negotiations to upgrade ACFTA to version 3.0. Most recently, the third round of negotiations on ACFTA version 3.0 was held from June 24 to 27, 2023 in Kunming City, Yunnan Province, China.

ACFTA version 3.0 will contribute to promoting trade and economic cooperation between ASEAN and China in areas such as digital economy, green economy, supply chain and industry, and promote regional economic integration.

BAO HAN

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