Asean China Sign Upgraded Free Trade Deal

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China and Asean have remained each other’s top trading partners for the past five years.
Investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz (left) presenting the agreement to Asean secretary-general Kao Kim Hourn following its signing.KUALA LUMPUR: Asean and China have signed an upgraded free trade deal strengthening regional economic cooperation and modernising the bloc’s trade framework with its largest partner
The Asean-China Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol (ACFTA 3.0 Upgrade) was inked by investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz and China’s commerce minister Wang Wentao.
The signing, held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here, was witnessed by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Chinese premier Li Qiang.
The agreement was then presented to Asean secretary-general Kao Kim Hourn.
The ACFTA 3.0 Upgrade adds guidance on competition and consumer protection, the digital and green economies, supply chain connectivity as well as micro, small and medium-sized enterprise participation.
The original ACFTA covered trade in goods, rules of origin, customs procedures, trade facilitation, standards and technical regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, services, investment, and economic and technical cooperation.
Launched in 2010, the agreement on the world’s largest free trade zone among developing countries has undergone continuous upgrades, with a deal on its second iteration signed in 2015 and coming into effect in 2019.
Trade between China and the regional bloc reached a record US$694 billion in the first eight months of 2025, marking a 9.7% year-on-year increase.
China and Asean have been each other’s largest trading partners for five consecutive years. - FMT

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