KUALA LUMPUR: Southeast Asian and Chinese leaders should move swiftly to ratify an upgraded free trade agreement signed on Tuesday (Oct 28) so businesses and citizens can begin reaping its benefits, said Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
Speaking at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China summit in Kuala Lumpur, Mr Wong said that effective implementation of the deal would unlock new economic opportunities across the region.
The ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), first signed in 2002 and entered into force in 2010, was China’s first free trade pact and ASEAN’s first with a major external partner. It was upgraded to version 2.0 in 2019 with a streamlining of trade rules.
