Jakarta. ASEAN is hoping that it can upgrade its free trade pact with China again no later than this year.

ASEAN ministers --alongside top diplomats of the group’s dialogue partners-- not long ago gathered in Laos for a series of talks. China sent its foreign minister Wang Yi to attend the conference. As expected from a gathering involving ASEAN’s top trading partners, trade became a key subject matter. 

Both sides officially implemented the original version of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) in 2010 before upgrading the pact to boost market access in 2019. It is now seeking to make another upgrade to accommodate the digital economy, among others. Negotiations for an ACFTA 3.0 have been taking place since 2022. According to ASEAN’s Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn, both sides want to have these upgrades done soon.

“The [recent] meeting [with China] looked forward to the conclusion of negotiations on the ACFTA 3.0 upgrade this year. It is clear they have been working for some time already to upgrade the ACFTA to make sure that it is relevant to the business community,” Kao Kim Hourn told a press briefing in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Just last month, ASEAN wrapped up the talks for ACFTA’s competition and consumer protection chapter. This newly concluded chapter is expected to enhance competition and consumer protection in electronic transactions. 

ASEAN-China trade reached $722 billion in 2022, up by 7.8 percent year-on-year. At home, China is Indonesia’s major trading partner, although the trade numbers are on a decline. Government data showed Indonesia-China trade dropped from $133.6 billion in 2022 to $127.8 billion the following year. Bilateral trade already hit $50.7 billion in January-May 2024, down from $51.9 billion recorded in the same period last year.