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.
A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off the east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Saturday, but no tsunami alert was issued, according to the ...
Finance ministers from the Group of Seven discussed new sanctions on Russia and tariffs on countries buying its oil, as the U.S. urged allies to ramp ...
North Korea will unveil a new policy linking nuclear and conventional military development at its upcoming ruling party congress, Kim Jong Un announce...
The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly endorsed a declaration calling for “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” towa...
Japan has reached a record 99,763 centenarians as of September 1, with women accounting for roughly 88 percent, marking the 55th consecutive year the ...
A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off the east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Saturday, but no tsunami alert was issued, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii.
North Korea will unveil a new policy linking nuclear and conventional military development at its upcoming ruling party congress, Kim Jong Un announced.
U.S. President Donald Trump's top diplomat, Marco Rubio, is set to travel to Israel this weekend amid rising tensions with U.S. allies in the Middle East over Israel's airstrike on Hamas leaders in Qatar and the expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Ukraine is increasingly finding Russian and Belarusian electronics in the wreckage of missiles fired at it by Moscow, according to a senior Ukrainian official.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
The UK is gearing up for Exercise Pegasus 2025, its largest pandemic readiness test since COVID-19. Running from September to November, this full-scale simulation will challenge the country's response to a fast-moving respiratory outbreak.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off the east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Saturday, but no tsunami alert was issued, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii.
North Korea will unveil a new policy linking nuclear and conventional military development at its upcoming ruling party congress, Kim Jong Un announced.
The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly endorsed a declaration calling for “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” toward a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
President Donald Trump announced Friday that National Guard troops will be deployed to Memphis, Tennessee, as part of his ongoing effort to curb crime in Democrat-led cities, saying the city’s mayor and the state governor support the move.
The United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt called Friday for a three-month humanitarian truce in Sudan, followed by a permanent ceasefire and a transitional process toward civilian-led governance.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment