China is pushing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to sign an upgrade to their free trade agreement before the end of the year, Vice Commerce Minister Yan Dong said on Monday, as Beijing seeks to diversify its exports amid U.S. tariffs.
Negotiations on the upgrade concluded in May, paving the way for improved market access in sectors such as agriculture, the digital economy and pharmaceuticals between China and the 10-member state ASEAN bloc, with Beijing seeking to position itself as the “more open” major economy, while U.S. President Donald Trump continues to target the region with punitive trade curbs.
“(China) will push for the formal signing of the protocol on upgrading the China-ASEAN free trade agreement version 3.0 by the end of the year,” Yan said at a news conference in Beijing.
“In the face of unilateralism and protectionism in global industrial chains, China and ASEAN have insisted on multilateral cooperation to maintain the stability and smooth operation of regional industrial chains,” he added, in a veiled reference to Trump’s trade policy.
Last month, Chinese exports to ASEAN surged 22.5% from a year earlier to $57.1 billion, making Southeast Asia China’s top export destination by value. The jump helped counter a 33.1% slump in U.S. shipments to $31.6 billion.
