During a special virtual meeting, the Economy and Trade ministers highlighted the coordinated effort to reach this milestone after three years of negotiations.

China and ASEAN, each other’s leading trading partners and strategic investors, thus ratified their role as defenders of multilateralism and economic globalization, the statement noted at the end of the meeting.

According to the text, the completion of the agreement sends a clear message of trade stability in a complex global context.

Version 3.0 includes new chapters on digital economy, clean energy, supply chain connectivity, technical regulations, customs facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, competition and consumer protection, support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and technological cooperation.

According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, these areas seek to modernize and expand regional economic integration.

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