Published: 12:00pm, 22 May 2025Updated: 2:21pm, 22 May 2025
China has negotiated an updated free-trade deal with the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), strengthening Beijing’s role in the region amid ongoing trade tensions with the United States.
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In a virtual meeting on Tuesday, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and his Asean counterparts announced that they had completed talks to update the 15-year-old free trade deal. The 3.0 version of the agreement now awaits ratification from member countries and could be signed this year.
“China stands ready to work with Asean to ensure the stability of global supply chains, advance shared development and safeguard international fairness and justice,” Wang said.
The concluded talks came after US President Donald Trump’s April “reciprocal tariffs” against most of its trading partners. Many countries, including those from Asean, are seeking to reach a deal with the US within a 90-day window – set to expire on July 9 – after Washington paused most of its tariffs.
The revamped free trade deal has undergone nine rounds of negotiations over the past two years, and analysts said the timing of the latest talks was critical and could serve as a powerful bargaining chip in either side’s negotiations with the United States.
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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that reciprocal tariffs would be reinstated for countries that Washington is unable to reach deals with during the current pause.