Thailand Leads ASEAN-China Trade Deal Upgrade to Take Effect This Year
Thailand is leading negotiations to implement the upgraded ASEAN-China free trade agreement by year-end 2024, with seven members including Thailand already completing domestic ratification. The modernized pact aims to streamline tariffs, di
Thailand's Commerce Ministry is chairing negotiations on the ASEAN-China free trade agreement, with both sides targeting full implementation of the upgraded ACFTA 3.0 by the end of 2024. Deputy Director-General Umapon Futtrakul of the International Trade Negotiation Department was assigned by Director-General Chotima Eamswaddikul to lead the ASEAN delegation alongside Lin Feng, director-general of China's Department of International Trade and Economic Affairs, at the 17th ASEAN-China Free Trade Area Joint Committee (ACFTA-JC) meeting on July 23–24, 2024, conducted via videoconference.
This is the first ACFTA-JC meeting in three years since 2022, as ASEAN and China have been negotiating to upgrade the trade framework to ACFTA 3.0. Both sides have agreed the upgraded pact will take effect within 2024 to allow ASEAN and China's leaders to announce success at the ASEAN-China Summit scheduled for November 2024. Seven ASEAN member states, including Thailand, have already completed their domestic ratification processes, and once China finishes, the protocol will take effect within 60 days, enabling businesses to benefit from the modernized and streamlined ACFTA framework.
The meeting also reviewed progress on key ACFTA commitments, including updating tariff schedules to the HS 2022 standard and developing an electronic Certificate of Origin exchange system (EODES) to reduce paperwork and processing time for origin verification. Thailand is currently discussing the system's development with China. Discussions also covered allocation of funding from a China-backed development fund to support ASEAN economic cooperation initiatives and prepare for new ACFTA 3.0 areas such as digital trade, green trade, and supply chain connectivity.
China has been ASEAN's top trading partner for 16 consecutive years. In 2023, ASEAN-China trade totaled $916.15 billion, up 18.59 percent year-on-year, with Thailand ranking as China's third-largest trading partner in ASEAN after Vietnam and Malaysia. In the first three months of 2024, ASEAN-China bilateral trade reached $238.45 billion, with ASEAN exports to China valued at $77.48 billion and imports from China at $160.97 billion. ASEAN's key exports include electrical machinery and components, nuclear reactors and parts, mineral fuels, steel, and edible fruits and nuts, while main imports include electrical machinery, reactors, plastics, steel, and vehicles and automotive components.
