China, ASEAN to Hold Meeting on Free Trade Zone

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, March 28, 2002

China, ASEAN to Hold Meeting on Free Trade Zone

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China and the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) will hold a senior officials' meeting in May this year to scrutinize preparations being made for talks on establishing a free trade zone, a senior official said in Beijing Thursday.

Long Yongtu, vice-minister of foreign trade and economic cooperation, said that officials from China and the ASEAN will discuss the preparatory work for launching the talks in Beijing assoon as possible.

Long himself will meet officials attending the meeting.

"Working level consultations between China and the ASEAN have been going on for some time as preparations are being made for launching the talks," Long said.

The date of is expected to be decided at the China-ASEAN economic ministers meeting in September this year, he said.

Chinese and ASEAN leaders agreed last November that they would establish a China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone in 10 years, and they haveauthorized ministers and senior officials to hammer out a free trade treaty as quickly as possible.

"The whole process will range from simple to more complicated preparations, from free trade arrangements for individual departments to the overall free trade treaty," Long said.

The negotiations between China and the ASEAN will be a process in which China and ASEAN members strengthen trade and economic cooperation, and one in which China and the ASEAN can interact within the framework of the World Trade Organization, he said.

Experts say the proposed China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone, if realized, would be the world's largest free trade zone with a population of 1.7 billion and a gross national product of 2,000 billion U.S. dollars.

It will also have the third largest trading market, next to theEuropean Union and the free trade zone in north America.

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