China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will send an upgraded ‘version 3.0’ free-trade agreement to their heads of government for approval in October, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday after regional talks in Kuala Lumpur.
The new pact, concluded in May after 18 months of negotiations, widens the 2010 China–ASEAN Free Trade Area to cover the digital and green economies as well as supply-chain resilience, according to a statement from China’s foreign ministry.
Wang said the two sides had also endorsed a five-year action plan that sets out cooperation in more than 40 policy areas ranging from e-commerce standards to renewable-energy investment.
China and ASEAN aim to finish drafting a code of conduct for the South China Sea by next year, he added, describing the guidelines as a step towards managing overlapping territorial claims. Several ASEAN states, including the Philippines and Viet Nam, dispute Beijing’s expansive maritime claims.
Bilateral trade has expanded rapidly in recent years: two-way goods trade reached 6.99 trillion yuan (about $963 billion) in 2024, making ASEAN China’s largest trading partner and accounting for 15.9 % of its total commerce, according to Chinese customs data.
Officials did not disclose when the agreed text will be published, but diplomats said leaders are expected to endorse it at an ASEAN summit in late October. The deal would then enter a ratification process within each member state.
Analysts say the upgrade could help cushion regional supply chains against global trade tensions, though some warn that progress on the South China Sea code of conduct is likely to prove harder than finishing the trade text.
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Egypt on Friday blamed Ethiopia for “reckless and irresponsible” management of the Nile, saying unilateral operations at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) have worsened flooding in Sudan and pose a direct threat to Egyptian lands and lives.
The U.S. carried out a strike on Friday against a “narco-trafficking vessel” off the coast of Venezuela, killing four people aboard, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said.
Sean “Diddy” Combs is awaiting sentencing in Manhattan federal court, where Judge Arun Subramanian will decide how long the hip-hop mogul spends in prison. The ruling is expected later today.
The 2027 FIFA Under-20 World Cup will mark a first for global football, with Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan set to co-host a tournament that bridges continents and highlights the sport’s growing reach.
British police said on Friday they may have accidentally shot two victims, including one who died, in their attempts to bring under control an attack on a Manchester synagogue during Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
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