The Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN and China on Tuesday signed an upgrade to their free trade agreement, which is expected to include sections on digital, green economy and other new industries.
The 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations is China's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade totaling $771 billion last year, according to ASEAN statistics.
China is seeking to intensify its engagement with ASEAN, a region with a collective gross domestic product of $3.8 trillion, to counter hefty import tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on countries around the world.
Beijing has been seeking to position itself as a more open economy, despite criticism from other major powers of its expanding export restrictions on rare earths and other critical minerals.
The so-called 3.0 version of the free trade agreement with ASEAN was signed into effect at a summit of the bloc's leaders in Malaysia, which Trump attended on Sunday at the start of his trip through Asia.
Negotiations on the upgraded ASEAN-China deal began in November 2022 and concluded in May this year, just after Trump's tariff offensive kicked into gear.
China has previously said the agreement would pave the way for improved market access in sectors such as agriculture, the digital economy and pharmaceuticals between China and ASEAN.
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A senior U.S. commerce official told lawmakers on Tuesday that only a small number of Nvidia's H200 artificial intelligence chips have been shipped to China so far, as scrutiny grows over Washington's export controls on advanced technology.
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Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 14th of July, covering the latest developments you need to know.
The United States carried out a third consecutive night of airstrikes against Iran, targeting military capabilities around the Strait of Hormuz as Donald Trump announced the reinstatement of a blockade on Iranian shipping and proposed a 20% fee on cargo passing through the strategic waterway.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the reimposition of a U.S. naval blockade on all Iranian ports and warned that power plants and bridges could be targeted next week unless Tehran returns to negotiations.
The United States and Iran have significantly escalated their conflict, exchanging heavy missile and drone strikes across the Gulf region. Iran claims it has once again closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping route.
The death toll from the fire at a live music pub in Bangkok has climbed to 32 after two more victims died from their injuries, according to Thailand's Police Hospital.
Ukraine and Russia exchanged fresh attacks on Tuesday, with Kyiv targeting shipping and energy infrastructure inside Russia while Moscow launched another large-scale missile and drone assault on Ukrainian cities.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the reimposition of a U.S. naval blockade on all Iranian ports and warned that power plants and bridges could be targeted next week unless Tehran returns to negotiations.
Ten EU countries, led by Italy and Poland, have urged the European Union to reconsider a new carbon price on fuel as part of a wider overhaul of the bloc's carbon market, according to a joint statement seen by Reuters.
The European Union (EU) has announced an additional €20 million ($22.8 million) in humanitarian assistance for Venezuela after last month's deadly earthquakes, which killed more than 4,700 people.
India's investigation into last year's Air India crash that killed 260 people has entered its final stages, with investigators completing a transcript of the cockpit voice recorder and carrying out a psychological autopsy as they work towards a final report.
The Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is spreading faster than efforts to contain it, global humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned, calling for an urgent expansion of containment and care measures.
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