![\"\"](\"https:\/\/chinaconnect.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2-6-300x200.jpg\")
On Oct. 28 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the two parties\u00a0signed the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol.\u00a0This achievement not only marks\u00a0another milestone in their shared\u00a0commitment to open cooperation\u00a0but also significantly advances the development of an open world economy at a critical moment.<\/p>\n
The agreement represents\u00a0is a landmark outcome from the\u00a0consensus reached between Chinese President Xi Jinping and ASEAN leaders during\u00a0the ASEAN-China Special Summit to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations.<\/p>\n
It also represents an important step in implementing the decisions of the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which called for expanding high-standard opening up and creating new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation.<\/p>\n
The upgraded partnership between the world’s second- and fifth-largest economies is more than a simple sum of figures,\u00a0it is a meeting of minds.<\/p>\n
Since its full implementation\u00a0in 2010, the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area(CAFTA)\u00a0has continuously evolved to meet the demands of accelerating\u00a0regional integration. Its progressive upgrades\u00a0– moving from tariffs reductions\u00a0on goods to expanded\u00a0service sector\u00a0access, and now to deeper\u00a0alignment of\u00a0regulations\u00a0and standards – clearly demonstrate the expanding scope and rising ambition of\u00a0China-ASEAN economic cooperation. The process fully reflects the two sides’ forward-looking vision and strategic understanding of global trends.<\/p>\n
Building CAFTA\u00a03.0 is a crucial step\u00a0towards\u00a0creating a super-sized market and fostering a community with a shared future. The economic partnership is exceptionally robust: China and ASEAN\u00a0have been each other’s largest trading partners for five consecutive years, with total trade reaching nearly $1 trillion in 2024 and cumulative two-way investment exceeding $450 billion as of July this year. These deep economic ties form a powerful foundation for an even closer community with a shared future.<\/p>\n
Under the CAFTA\u00a03.0 framework, both sides will jointly promote the development of emerging industries such as digital and green economies, enhance the alignment of standards and regulations, and advance infrastructure and supply chain connectivity. These measures\u00a0will drive the region toward deeper economic integration and more sustainable long-term growth.<\/p>\n
Businesses anticipate that the agreement’s provisions will significantly enhance the region’s appeal as an investment destination and contribute to building stronger, more resilient supply chains. These high expectations underscore the potential for the upgraded free trade area to unlock new dimensions of China-ASEAN cooperation.<\/p>\n
The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 fully demonstrates the two sides’ shared and solemn commitment to upholding multilateralism\u00a0and free trade. Amid intensifying geopolitical rivalry and rampant protectionism, China and ASEAN are providing certainty through mutually beneficial cooperation in an uncertain world. Their joint resolve to\u00a0build an open, inclusive, and rules-based regional integrated\u00a0market\u00a0and a resilient\u00a0regional\u00a0industrial and supply chain system that delivers mutual benefits\u00a0will unlock significant\u00a0opportunities for businesses across the region and beyond, inject strong confidence and vitality into global economic growth, and set an example for countries working together to address international economic and trade challenges.<\/p>\n
Adhering to openness, cooperation, and mutual benefit is an inherent requirement of Chinese modernization. As of early 2025, China had signed 23 free trade agreements with 30 countries and regions.<\/p>\n
With China continuing to expand institutional opening up, foster innovation-driven trade growth, broaden two-way investment channels, and work with partners to advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, the space for mutual benefit and shared success will only continue to grow.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, China’s steadfast commitment to openness and cooperation will ensure it remains a stabilizer and source of dynamism for the world economy.<\/p>\n
Economic globalization is an irreversible trend of history. China will continue to work with all parties to uphold multilateralism and open cooperation, share development opportunities through openness, and pursue win-win outcomes, so as to promote a universally beneficial\u00a0and\u00a0inclusive economic globalization, build an open world economy, and jointly create a brighter future for all humanity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By He Yin, People’s Daily Amid rising unilateralism and protectionism, how can nations foster greater stability in regional and global development? China and ASEAN have delivered a compelling response. On Oct. 28 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the two parties\u00a0signed the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol.\u00a0This achievement not only marks\u00a0another milestone in their shared\u00a0commitment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":4662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailytimes.net.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailytimes.net.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailytimes.net.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailytimes.net.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailytimes.net.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4661"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailytimes.net.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4661\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4663,"href":"https:\/\/dailytimes.net.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4661\/revisions\/4663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailytimes.net.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailytimes.net.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailytimes.net.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailytimes.net.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}