China, ASEAN conclude negotiations for CAFTA 3.0

Chinese and ASEAN economic and trade ministers held a special consultation meeting via video link on Tuesday, during which they announced the full conclusion of negotiations for version 3.0 of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA), the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said in a statement on Wednesday.

Negotiations on the CAFTA 3.0 started in November 2022. After nine rounds of formal negotiations in nearly two years, the talks were substantively concluded in October 2024. Under the full coordination and joint efforts of economic and trade ministers from participating countries, negotiations have been fully concluded, taking a crucial step toward the signing of the upgrade protocol, according to the MOFCOM statement.

The CAFTA 3.0 will send a strong message of upholding free trade and open cooperation. China and ASEAN are each other's largest trading partners and key investment partners, both being steadfast supporters of economic globalization and multilateralism. As a priority in bilateral economic and trade cooperation, the development of the CAFTA 3.0 represents a landmark achievement in jointly upholding and advancing free trade, the MOFCOM said.

Amid significant challenges facing global economy and trade, the conclusion of the negotiations aligns with the global development trend, demonstrates the strong vitality of free trade and open cooperation, injects greater certainty into regional and global trade, and plays a driving and demonstrative role for countries to uphold openness, inclusiveness, and mutually beneficial cooperation, the ministry said.

The CAFTA 3.0 will create an inclusive, modern, comprehensive, and mutually beneficial free trade agreement. It includes nine new chapters including digital economy, green economy and supply chain connectivity. These additions will enable both sides to advance broader and deeper regional economic integration under new circumstances, significantly promote the deep integration of industrial and supply chains, and hold pioneering significance.

Moreover, the upgraded deal will strongly advance the building of a China-ASEAN community with a shared future. Through the CAFTA 3.0, the two major developing economies will expand mutual opening-up and comprehensively expand cooperation in emerging fields and new quality productive forces. This will provide critical institutional guarantees for building a vast China-ASEAN market and deliver sustained momentum for advancing the China-ASEAN community with a shared future, and fostering enduring common prosperity and development, the MOFCOM said.

In the next step, the two sides will actively advance their respective domestic signing and ratification procedures to formally sign the upgraded protocol of the CAFTA 3.0.