C HINA and 10 ASEAN countries have fully completed negotiations on the Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA), a milestone in bilateral trade cooperation that will inject greater momentum and stability into the world economy.
The achievement was announced during a special online meeting of economic and trade ministers from China and ASEAN on Tuesday, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce. CAFTA 3.0 will send a strong signal in support of free trade and open cooperation, said the ministry, noting that the agreement will inject greater certainty into regional and global trade, and serve as a model for openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation.
Launched in 2010, the CAFTA, the world’s largest free trade zone among developing countries, has undergone continuous upgrades, with its Version 2.0 agreement signed in 2015 and coming into effect in 2019.With negotiations for CAFTA 3.0 now concluded, both parties will strive to formally sign the CAFTA 3.0 upgrade protocol before the end of this year, the ministry revealed. Exemplifying cooperation across the Global South, the conclusion of CAFTA 3.0 negotiations will greatly enhance China-ASEAN cooperation concerning industrial capacity, technology and trade, while boosting ASEAN countries’ economic growth and industrialization, said Feng Gui, a law professor at Guangxi University of Finance and Economics in south China.
Xinhua
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