On October 28, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and Malaysia’s Minister of Investment, Trade & Industry, Tengku Zafrul Aziz, signed on behalf of China and ASEAN, respectively, the China–ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) 3.0 Upgrade Protocol in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The signing ceremony was jointly witnessed by Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and other leaders of ASEAN member states.

The signing of the Protocol marks a landmark achievement in implementing the important consensus reached by President Xi Jinping and ASEAN leaders at the Special Summit to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations. It also represents a key measure to implement the decisions of the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on expanding high-standard opening up and forging a new landscape of win-win cooperation. The upgrade to CAFTA 3.0 fully demonstrates the solemn commitment of the two sides to multilateralism and free trade, as well as their firm resolve to jointly build an open, inclusive, rules-based regional integrated market and a mutually beneficial, resilient regional industrial and supply chain system. It will create abundant opportunities for enterprises in China, ASEAN, and around the world in market access and industrial cooperation, inject strong confidence and momentum into regional and global economic growth, and serve as an important model for countries to jointly address global trade and economic challenges.

China and ASEAN launched the free trade area construction process in 2002. Version 1.0 of the CAFTA was fully implemented in 2010, and upgraded to Version 2.0 in 2015. The upgrade to Version 3.0 was officially launched in November 2022 and negotiations were concluded in May 2025. The CAFTA 3.0 upgrade covers nine areas: Digital Economy, Green Economy, Supply Chain Connectivity, Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures, Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures, Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation, Competition and Consumer Protection, Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, and Economic and Technical Cooperation. Following the signing of the Protocol, the two sides will proceed with their respective domestic ratification procedures to facilitate its early entry into force and implementation.