In her opening remarks at the 8th round of negotiations for the upgraded ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) on August 6, Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Phan Thi Thang, emphasized the significance of the ACFTA to the trade and investment relationship between ASEAN and China. She highlighted the need to upgrade the agreement as directed by the leaders of ASEAN and China, aiming to improve commitments and bring practical benefits to businesses and people in the ASEAN and Chinese member states.
The ACFTA negotiation session is expected to take place over five days in Ha Long, Quang Ninh, Vietnam, with the participation of more than 180 delegates from the 10 ASEAN member states, China, and the ASEAN Secretariat.
Since the ACFTA came into effect in 2005, trade between ASEAN and China has increased sevenfold, reaching $722 billion and $702 billion in 2022 and 2023, respectively. China has maintained its position as ASEAN’s largest trading partner since 2009.
In 2020, ASEAN surpassed the EU to become China’s largest trading partner and has retained this position in subsequent years. China is also the fourth-largest foreign investor in the ASEAN region, with total FDI investment reaching $15.3 billion in 2022, accounting for 6.9% of total FDI inflows into ASEAN.
Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang acknowledged and commended the efforts of the negotiating delegations from ASEAN and China, who have concluded negotiations on four chapters and completed about 70% of the work after seven rounds of talks since November 2022.
She also emphasized the particular importance of the 8th round of negotiations in Ha Long, as it is the penultimate session before the final round in September 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand, and it coincides with the 75th anniversary of ASEAN’s founding (August 8, 1967).
Given this significance, the Deputy Minister requested that the negotiating delegations continue active discussions and resolve outstanding issues to achieve the goal of substantially concluding the negotiations by September 2024, thus fulfilling one of the priority economic initiatives of Laos during its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2024.
The co-chairs of the negotiating committee and the heads of the ASEAN and Chinese delegations expressed their sincere appreciation and high regard for Vietnam’s organization of the event. They will take on board the guidance provided by the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade to achieve the best possible outcome at the 8th round of negotiations hosted by Vietnam, contributing to the overall goal of substantially concluding the ACFTA upgrade negotiations as planned.
Previously, in November 2002, ASEAN and China signed the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation. Based on this agreement, the two sides continued negotiations and concluded agreements on Trade in Goods (which took effect in July 2005), Trade in Services (effective from July 2007), and Investment (effective from February 2010) to establish the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area, known as the ACFTA.
In November 2022, at the 25th ASEAN-China Summit, the leaders of ASEAN and China announced the launch of negotiations to upgrade the ACFTA, aiming to deepen and broaden their economic relationship. In addition to traditional areas such as trade in goods and investment, the upgraded ACFTA is expected to cover new areas, including supply chain connectivity, green economy, and the digital economy.
The ACFTA is one of the free trade agreements with a high utilization rate for Vietnam, contributing to increasing the proportion of exports and imports between Vietnam and China since the signing of the ASEAN-China Trade in Goods Agreement in 2005. According to Vietnam Customs, in 2023, China was Vietnam’s largest trading partner, with two-way trade reaching $171.9 billion.
Vietnam’s delegation to the ACFTA upgrade negotiations includes representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (as the head of the delegation) and relevant ministries and sectors, such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the State Bank of Vietnam.
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