On October 28, China and ASEAN completed a key agenda in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia—officiallysigned the China—ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol, adding a significant chapter to the 28th China—ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting.
This marks a new stage in China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation, expanding from traditional tariff concessions to rule-making in emerging fields such as the digital economy and green economy.
Image source: CCTV News
FTA Construction Journey: Evolution from1.0 to 3.0
Since 2002, China and ASEAN have embarked on the construction of the FTA, and it has been 23 years to date.
Looking back at this journey, the FTA construction shows a clear path of evolution: In 2010, with the full implementation of version 1.0, the focus of cooperation was on the liberalization of goods trade; by 2015, the relationship entered the new 2.0 stage, successfully expanding cooperation to deeper levels such as trade in services and investment facilitation.
The signing of the3.0 Upgrade Protocol this time marks the transition of cooperation from "market access" and "opening-up upgrade" to a new stage of "rules and the future".
Data shows that China and ASEAN are now each other's largest trading partners and important sources of investment.
In 2024, bilateral trade reached $982.3 billion, which is 17 times the amount when the FTA was launched in 2002.
Such remarkable growth fully demonstrates the irreplaceable and positive role of the China—ASEAN FTA in driving bilateral trade exchanges.
Image source: CCTV.com
3.0 Upgrade: Innovation Covering Nine Major Areas
The 3.0 Upgrade Protocol covers nine major areas, including SMEs, digital economy, supply chain connectivity, and more.
A core change in this 3.0 upgrade is the expansion of the cooperation framework, incorporating five brand-new areas such as the digital economy and green economy at once.
This move is not a simple expansion of scope, but a reflection of the joint will of both sides—to proactively lead rule-making in emerging fields through coordinated action, elevating cooperation to a new strategic height.
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Practical Impact on Enterprises and Consumers
The signing of the 3.0 Upgrade Protocol is not only significant for intergovernmental economic and trade relations, but will also bring tangible benefits to enterprises and consumers.
In terms of competition policy and consumer protection, this agreement achieves a major breakthrough: for the first time, a systematic rule framework covering both enterprises and consumers has been established.
This framework sets special provisions for new consumption scenarios such as online shopping, cross-border tourism services, and consumer fraud. It not only expands the connotation of consumer rights, but also further clarifies the legal responsibilities of business entities, comprehensively enhancing the level of consumer rights protection.
In supporting the development of SMEs, both sides agreed to further deepen information sharing and experience exchange,with a focus on helping SMEs expand markets through e-commerce platforms, and enhance their understanding, utilization, and management of intellectual property, enabling them to better benefit from the FTA upgrade.
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For the vast number of foreign trade enterprises, the China—ASEAN FTA 3.0 is not only an upgrade of macro policies, but also a substantial expansion of market opportunities.
This means that foreign trade practitioners must re-examine their own competitive advantages, and proactively incorporate digital transformation, green and low-carbon development, and supply chain optimization into their core business strategies.
The policy tailwind has arrived. Only enterprises that are the first to understand, adapt to, and utilize the rules can seize the commanding heights of the next round of development in the vast China—ASEAN market worth nearly a trillion dollars.