This year is the first year of the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership and the first year of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) coming into effect. The construction of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area Version 3.0 is about to start. From September 16th to 19th, the 19th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit will be held in Nanning, Guangxi. attract attention.

　　Construction of version 3.0 is expected

　　Since the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, the economic and trade achievements have been remarkable. After years of development and deliberation, the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Joint Feasibility Study is now being accelerated and has attracted attention from all walks of life.

　　With the establishment of a strategic partnership between China and ASEAN in 2003, the pace of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area construction has been accelerating. In January 2010, the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area was fully established, and an "upgraded version" was launched in 2019. Statistics show that the zero-tariff of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area has covered more than 90% of the tax items of both parties. Since the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, it has effectively promoted the process of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation between China and ASEAN, and has also provided a strong impetus for the development of regional economic integration.

　　Data show that from 2010 to 2019, the bilateral trade between China and ASEAN increased by an average annual rate of 9.4%. In 2020, despite the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, ASEAN still jumped to become China's largest trading partner in goods, and China and ASEAN achieved a historic breakthrough as each other's largest trading partner. In 2021, against the background of repeated global epidemics and slowing world economic recovery, the trade scale between China and ASEAN will continue to rise against the trend, reaching approximately US$878.207 billion, an increase of 28.1% over 2020. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, China-ASEAN import and export trade has grown against the trend, which also fully reflects the strong resilience brought by the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area to China-ASEAN economic and trade relations.