China hopes to conclude China-ASEAN FTA 3.0 negotiations ASAP

HANGZHOU, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to work with ASEAN to conclude the negotiations for version 3.0 of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) as soon as possible, China's Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said on Wednesday.

China aims to upgrade the liberalization of trade and investment with ASEAN further, on the basis of the existing China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Wang said at the opening ceremony of the fifth round of negotiations in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.

He noted that China is also willing to expand practical cooperation with ASEAN in such emerging areas as the trade of intermediate goods, digital trade and cross-border e-commerce.

The ongoing round of negotiations began on Jan. 29 and will continue to Feb. 2, with nearly 400 officials from both sides in attendance. ■