China-ASEAN FTA, a key step forward - People's Daily Online

Editors' note

Amid the chime to ring in the New Year, the start of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area came as a milestone in the annals of China-ASEAN relations, and it may well serve as a model for regional cooperation not only in Asia, but in other parts of the world.

Deputy Commerce Minister: China's investment in ASEAN to rapidly increase

China's investment in southeast Asia will rise rapidly as firms become more eager to go abroad with economic recovery, a senior commerce official said Thursday.

China, ASEAN mark FTA with grand ceremony

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Thursday held a ceremony marking the establishment of the world's largest free trade area.

Milestones for China-ASEAN FTA

·☆ China and ASEAN started their dialogue in 1991.

☆ In December 1997, leaders of the two sides issued a
joint declaration at the first China-ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur.

☆ China and ASEAN signed the Framework Agreement
on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation in
November 2002.

☆ In November 2004, China and ASEAN signed
a free trade goods agreement and dispute settlement
agreement at the eighth China-ASEAN Summit in Vientiane.

☆ The two sides began reducing tariffs at the start of 2005.

☆ In 2007, their trade reached a new high.

☆ On January 1,2010, China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone formed.

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