KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 — Asean and China have agreed to submit a pact upgrading their free trade areas to their leaders for approval in October, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi today.
Negotiations on the so-called 3.0 version of the free trade zone started in November 2022 and were completed in May, seeking to cover areas such as the digital economy, green economy and supply chain connectivity.
Asean and China also agreed on a five-year action plan that specifies collaboration between the two sides in over 40 fields in the coming years, according to a statement published by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, citing Wang’s comments after attending the East Asia Summit here yesterday.
Wang said the two sides agreed to strive to complete consultations next year on a code of conduct in the South China Sea — a set of guidelines aiming to manage disputes in the region, where Beijing and several Asean members have overlapping maritime claims.
— Reuters
