Vietnam urgently moves towards signing the protocol to upgrade the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement

On the afternoon of May 29, the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that our country welcomes and is implementing relevant procedures to implement the ASEAN - China Free Trade Agreement version 3.0.

China is ASEAN's top trading partner. Photo: New Mandala

Responding to the press on the afternoon of May 29 regarding China and ASEAN's negotiations to upgrade the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) to version 3.0, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang affirmed that Vietnam welcomes this move, emphasizing: "This is an important result, affirming the strong commitment of ASEAN countries and China, ensuring that ACFTA is always ready for the future and ready to respond to global challenges. This upgraded version is expected to bring added value through the addition of a number of areas such as digital economy, green economy and supply chain connectivity."

On the Vietnamese side, the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "Relevant Vietnamese agencies are urgently carrying out domestic procedures in accordance with the law to sign the protocol to upgrade the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement version 3.0 on the occasion of the 28th ASEAN-China Summit to be held in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) in October 2025."

Previously, the ASEAN-China Special Economic and Trade Ministers' Meeting held online on May 22 announced the completion of negotiations for ACFTA version 3.0.

ACFTA is one of the important foundations for economic cooperation between ASEAN and China. The upgrade to version 3.0 is expected to promote more sustainable, flexible and comprehensive trade growth between the two sides in the coming time.

Version 3.0 includes 9 new chapters, covering many areas, from digital economy, green economy, supply chain connectivity, to standards and technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, customs procedures and trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, competition and consumer protection, small and medium enterprises, economic and technological cooperation...

China has been ASEAN's largest trading partner since 2009. In 2020, ASEAN surpassed the European Union (EU) to become China's largest trading partner and maintained this position in the following years.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/viet-nam-khan-truong-tien-toi-ky-nghi-dinh-thu-nang-cap-hiep-dinh-thuong-mai-tu-do-asean-trung-quoc-703937.html