China and the ten ASEAN countries have fully completed negotiations on the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0.

On May 20, the China-ASEAN Economic and Trade Ministers' Special Meeting was held online, and the economic and trade ministers from both sides jointly announced the comprehensive completion of the negotiations for the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0. The 3.0 negotiations were initiated in November 2022 and went through nearly two years and 9 rounds of formal negotiations, with substantive completion in October 2024. With the full coordination and joint efforts of the economic and trade ministers of each country, both sides have completed the negotiations comprehensively and taken a key step towards signing the upgrade protocol. Version 3.0 will send out a strong message to uphold free trade and open cooperation. China and ASEAN are each other's largest trading partners and important investment partners, both firm supporters of economic globalization and multilateralism. Version 3.0 construction, as a priority for economic and trade cooperation between both sides, is a significant achievement in jointly defending and deepening free trade. In the face of major challenges in global trade, the comprehensive completion of the negotiations by both sides is in line with the trend of world development, showcasing the strong vitality of free trade and open cooperation, injecting greater certainty into regional and global trade, and playing a leading and exemplary role in promoting open, inclusive, and win-win cooperation among countries. Version 3.0 will create an inclusive, modern, comprehensive, and mutually beneficial free trade agreement. Version 3.0 includes 9 new chapters such as digital economy, green economy, supply chain connectivity, standard technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, customs procedures and trade facilitation, health and plant health measures, competition and consumer protection, small and medium-sized enterprises, economic and technical cooperation, which will facilitate both sides to advance regional economic integration in a broader and deeper range under the new circumstances, and effectively promote the deep integration of production and supply chains between both sides, which is of great pioneering significance. Version 3.0 will effectively promote the building of the China-ASEAN Community of Shared Future. China and ASEAN, as two major developing economies, will jointly expand mutual openness through the construction of the Free Trade Area 3.0, comprehensively expanding cooperation in emerging areas and new productive forces, providing important institutional guarantees for promoting the construction of a China-ASEAN super large market, and providing lasting impetus for promoting the building of the China-ASEAN Community of Shared Future, and promoting mutual prosperity and development between both sides. Next, both sides will actively promote the signing and approval procedures in their respective countries, and work towards the official signing of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 upgrade protocol before the end of the year.