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China-ASEAN

In November 2001, China and the 10-member Association of South East Asia Nations (ASEAN) began negotiations to set up a free trade area.

One year later, a framework agreement for the planned FTA was signed. The FTA, a zero-tariff market of more than 1.7 billion people, has been targeted to come into force in 2010 for the six original ASEAN members (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) and in 2015 for the other four (Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam). Implementation of the framework agreement would occur in stages. For instance:

 An early harvest programme covering trade in goods came into force in July 2005.
 Negotiations on a dispute settlement mechanism were finalised in 2004 for implementation in 2005.
 Negotiations on trade in services were completed and an agreement signed in January 2007, for implementation in July 2007.
 The China-ASEAN investment agreement was to be signed at the ASEAN Summit in Thailand in December 2008.

Separately, China signed a bilateral FTA with ASEAN member Singapore in October 2008. Beijing has also been hammering out a lot of separate, smaller and more specific bilateral deals with ASEAN neighbours, such as the infamous Philippine-China investment agreements (the subject of huge corruption scandals in the Philippines in 2007), harmonised food safety standards with Thailand (to facilitate agricultural trade) and numerous arrangements with the Mekong Delta countries.

Politics around the China-ASEAN deal are delicate as ASEAN states want to avoid China’s domination and yet build their economies by interacting with China, especially given the slowdown in demand from the US and European markets. At the same time, China is moving up the manufacturing value-chain losing need for primary products that ASEAN states produce while its search for raw materials such as minerals and oil has rapidly gone global. Finally, the coming into force of full-scale zero-tariff farm trade with China from 2010 onward has raised many fears in the ASEAN world.

last update: May 2012
Photo: MangAndri Kasep / CC BY 2.0


China, ASEAN move toward closer quarantine cooperation ahead FTA
China and ASEAN should set up a mechanism to facilitate the cooperation on inspection and quarantine against public health risks posed by tremendous people and goods flow after the formation of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA), experts and officials said Thursday.
PM has suggested agriculturists to study FTA and plan for long-term
Thailand’s Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has advised farmers to study the impacts of the China-ASEAN free trade area (FTA) and find ways to handle them.
ASEAN-China summit to work on free trade agreement encompassing one-third of world’s population
Leaders from China and the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations will open a summit on the Chinese city of Nanning as both sides prepare the groundwork for a free trade agreement that would encompass at least one-third of the world’s population.
A blossoming relationship
The dialogue between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China began in 1991. Few would have then predicted the regional financial crisis or China’s becoming an economic powerhouse in the world within a short decade. Fewer would have imagined the blossoming relationship between Asean and China which now spans the strategic, political, security, economic, financial and socio-cultural spectrum.
Workshop discusses competitiveness of Viet Nam’s farm produce in China
Viet Nam’s farm produce are facing challenges in the Chinese market as a result of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (AC-FTA), in particular stronger competition from the products of other ASEAN countries.
EOs imperil vegetable, fruit industries
The reduction of tariffs on wide range of agricultural products as mandated by Executive Orders 485 and 487 under the China-ASEAN FTA would impact the Philippines’ vegetable and fruit industries, a coalition of nongovernment organizations for the agriculture sector said.
China-ASEAN FTA agreement benefits China’s textile export
Since China and the ASEAN started their tariff reduction process on July 1, 2005 on the basis of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) agreement, the ASEAN would gradually lower its tariff upon Chinese textile and apparel, which may increase China’s textile export to this region.
Pact’s progress
The China-ASEAN FTA will form a huge market, with 1.85 billion consumers and a combined gross domestic product of almost US$2.5 trillion. Both sides hope to establish an FTA by 2010, and will gradually reduce export tariffs until then.
China, ASEAN march towards world’s 3rd largest FTA
With a fast growing trade volume, China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are trying to show the world that the planned free trade area will be an accelerator for regional economy.
China-ASEAN FTA steps into implementation period
With cooperation between China and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) deepening, the construction of a China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) has entered a full-spectrum cooperation period, said Chong Quan, spokesman for China’s Commerce Ministry.