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  1. Negotiations

China

China actively seeks bilateral trade and investment deals outside of the World Trade Organisation. The government has put priority on forging agreements with neighbouring countries of Asia, but also many other countries on whom it relies for minerals, energy, food, infrastructure or geopolitical support.

Beijing has signed bilateral trade agreements with ASEAN (2002), Hong Kong (2002), Macau (2003), Thailand (2003), Niger (2005), Chile (2006), Pakistan (2006), New Zealand (2008), Peru (2008), Singapore (2008), Costa Rica (2010), Taiwan (2010), Switzerland (2013), Iceland (2014), Australia (2015), Korea (2015), Georgia (2017), Maldives (2017) and the Eurasian Economic Union (2018). China is also a party to 127 bilateral investment treaties.

China is currently in bilateral negotiations with the European Union (investment), the Gulf Cooperation Council, Israel, Mauritius, Moldova, New Zealand (to upgrade the current agreement), Norway, Pakistan (upgrade), Singapore (upgrade), the Southern African Customs Union and Sri Lanka, as well as with Japan and Korea for a possible a three-way deal. Further down the horizon, there is talk of eventual negotiations with Canada, Chile (upgrade), Colombia, Fiji, Mexico, Mongolia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Palestine, Panama, Peru (upgrade), Switzerland (upgrade) and Uruguay.

Regionally, China has proposed a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, an initiative that would encompass the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation nations, in direct rivalry with US-led projects like the Trans-Pacific Partnership. But that intitiative is currently on hold.

China is currently part of the talks on a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). RCEP is a mega-regional trade agreement proposed by the Association of South East Asian Nations with its FTA partners : China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

If concluded, it would give Chinese corporations market access to India — in goods, services and investment — that it does not have through its own FTAs.

China also sees RCEP as a key element of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an infrastructure project meant to link Asia with Europe, passing through Africa, and with an extension to Latin America.

China is also using the BRI to push more countries to sign free trade agreements to consolidate the trade and investment leverage that the project opens up.

last update: June 2018
photo: Eddie / CC BY-ND 2.0

China-Hong Kong: Scope of trade pact to expand
6-Mar-2007 China Daily
Mainland China will expand the scope of a free trade pact with Hong Kong in the coming months to open up services trade and facilitate investment.
FTAs vital for China’s foreign trade: Vice Minister
25-Feb-2007 China Economic Net
Vice Minister of Commerce Yu Guangzhou has stressed the importance of Free Trade Areas (FTA) for China’s foreign trade development. "FTAs will expand rapidly over the next 10 years and economic heavyweights will become the leaders of this expansion," he said.
China agrees more talks on service sector reform
17-Dec-2006 FT
The US and China on Friday agreed to intensify discussions about the opening up of China’s services sector and explore the possibility of a bilateral investment treaty at the conclusion of this week’s high level talks in Beijing.
China, Chile to start FTA talks on service trade/investment next Jan - report
29-Nov-2006 Forbes
China and Chile will start negotiations in January for a free trade agreement (FTA) covering service trade and investment, the official China Daily reported.
China, Pakistan sign free trade agreement
25-Nov-2006 Channel News Asia
Chinese President Hu Jintao and Pakistani counterpart Pervez Musharraf oversaw the signing of a landmark free trade deal Friday and vowed to take the allies’ "evergreen" relationship to new heights.
China, Russia agree to expand energy, trade links
10-Nov-2006 Monsters and critics
China and Russia agreed to expand cooperation in energy, trade and other areas Thursday, signing contracts worth more than 800 million dollars and a bilateral agreement to promote and protect investments.
China, Africa set up new partnership, sign trade deals
6-Nov-2006 AFP
China and Africa have signed trade deals worth 1.9 billion dollars on the final day of a historic summit that saw the Asian giant deepen economic and political ties with the resource-rich continent.
Singapore and China start talks on Free Trade Agreement
28-Oct-2006 Channel News Asia
China and Singapore have held the first round of talks in Beijing on the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. When concluded, the FTA will be a comprehensive one, extending beyond trade in goods, services and investment.
Interview: Sino-Zimbabwean economic partnership presents rosy picture
24-Oct-2006 People’s Daily
The Sino-Zimbabwean trade and economic cooperation presents a rosy picture as the Zimbabwean government’s Look East policy has created opportunities for the Chinese investors, a Chinese diplomat said here on Monday.
China, Chile put free trade agreement into effect
3-Oct-2006
China and Chile’s free trade agreement, which is expected to eventually exempt 97 percent of all trade goods from import tariffs, went into effect on Sunday.

    Links

  • Belt and Road Initiative and human rights
    FIDH’s webpage that aims to collect and share information regarding the human rights and environmental impacts of China’s Belt and Road Initiative projects in recipient countries across Asia.
  • China FTA Network
    Official website on China’s FTAs, maintained by MOFCOM