China
China actively seeks bilateral trade and investment deals outside of the World Trade Organisation. The government has put priority on forging agreements with neighbouring countries of Asia, but also many other countries on whom it relies for minerals, energy, food, infrastructure or geopolitical support.
Beijing has signed bilateral trade agreements with ASEAN (2002), Hong Kong (2002), Macau (2003), Thailand (2003), Niger (2005), Chile (2006), Pakistan (2006), New Zealand (2008), Peru (2008), Singapore (2008), Costa Rica (2010), Taiwan (2010), Switzerland (2013), Iceland (2014), Australia (2015), Korea (2015), Georgia (2017), Maldives (2017) and the Eurasian Economic Union (2018). China is also a party to 127 bilateral investment treaties.
China is currently in bilateral negotiations with the European Union (investment), the Gulf Cooperation Council, Israel, Mauritius, Moldova, New Zealand (to upgrade the current agreement), Norway, Pakistan (upgrade), Singapore (upgrade), the Southern African Customs Union and Sri Lanka, as well as with Japan and Korea for a possible a three-way deal. Further down the horizon, there is talk of eventual negotiations with Canada, Chile (upgrade), Colombia, Fiji, Mexico, Mongolia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Palestine, Panama, Peru (upgrade), Switzerland (upgrade) and Uruguay.
Regionally, China has proposed a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, an initiative that would encompass the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation nations, in direct rivalry with US-led projects like the Trans-Pacific Partnership. But that intitiative is currently on hold.
China is currently part of the talks on a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). RCEP is a mega-regional trade agreement proposed by the Association of South East Asian Nations with its FTA partners : China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
If concluded, it would give Chinese corporations market access to India — in goods, services and investment — that it does not have through its own FTAs.
China also sees RCEP as a key element of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an infrastructure project meant to link Asia with Europe, passing through Africa, and with an extension to Latin America.
China is also using the BRI to push more countries to sign free trade agreements to consolidate the trade and investment leverage that the project opens up.
last update: June 2018
Articles
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17-May-2018 Ecns China, Norway make ’positive progress’ in free trade negotiations
Both sides conducted negotiations on issues such as trade in goods, trade in services, investment, rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, intellectual property rights, competition policies and government procurement. -
16-May-2018 Bloomberg Look to India for returns, not China’s Belt-and-Road, Funds say
Some of Asia’s biggest infrastructure investors are seeing plenty of opportunities in India. In China’s mammoth Belt-and-Road initiative, however, not so much. -
15-May-2018 China Briefing China to sign free trade agreement with Eurasian Economic Union on May 17
Russia and China have already been in talks to link the EAEU with China’s Belt & Road Initiative in plans outlined by presidents Putin and Xi. -
15-May-2018 Xinhua China, Norway start new round of free trade negotiations
This is the third round of talks after the recovering of China-Norway free trade agreement negotiations in April 2017. -
26-Apr-2018 UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News China’s Hong Kong seeks closer ties with Indonesia, ASEAN under FTA, Belt and Road Initiative
An official delegation from China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is seeking closer ties in economic and other areas with Indonesia as well as ASEAN under the Hong Kong-ASEAN free trade agreement (FTA) and the Belt and Road Initiative. -
24-Apr-2018 Nikkei Asian Review China and South Korea seek free trade deal with Mercosur
China and South Korea are seeking to establish free trade agreements with Mercosur in a strategic response to Washington’s increasingly protectionist stance. -
19-Apr-2018 ABC Papua New Guinea reportedly set to join China’s Free Trade Agreement at APEC
Papua New Guinea is believed to be on course to sign up to a Free Trade Agreement with China to promote bilateral cooperation and deepen cooperation in the ’One Belt, One Road’ initiative. -
17-Apr-2018 Nikkei Asian Review Japan and China pledge to accelerate free trade talks
The governments of Japan and China stressed the importance of free trade and pledged to accelerate negotiations of bilateral pacts at their high-level economic dialogue in Tokyo on Monday, the first such meeting in eight years. -
13-Apr-2018 ANI News Pakistan defers signing FTA-II with China
Pakistan has deferred signing the second phase of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China at the last moment due to strong reservations over the final offer list shared by Beijing, signaling the straining bilateral relationship between the two countries. -
11-Apr-2018 Asean Economist Singapore signs Belt and Road deal
Singapore has signed an agreement with China to strengthen cooperation on its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, aiming to expand the city-state’s involvement. -
10-Apr-2018 Business Standard China, Mongolia to explore free trade agreement - Xinhua
China and Mongolia should begin research into a free trade agreement and speed up the launch of a cross-border cooperation zone in a bid to make use of the two countries complimentary advantages, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Monday. -
6-Apr-2018 Hindustan Times No change in India’s position on China’s Belt and Road Initiative: MEA
India’s Ministry of External affairs on Thursday said there is no change in its position on China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) or Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the signature connectivity project of President Xi Jinping. -
3-Apr-2018 Maritime Executive China’s Belt and Road investment accelerates
China’s investment in Belt and Road countries could reach $300 billion by 2030.The initiative has accelerated growth in the nation’s foreign direct investment flows which were the second-largest (after the US) among single countries in 2015 and 2016. -
28-Mar-2018 The Asset Belt Road-strain on Pakistan’s finances exposes flaws in the grand scheme
Pakistan’s public finances and currency are in a state of disarray, with part of the blame being laid at the door of the country’s engagement with China’s Belt Road project -
28-Mar-2018 Nikkei Asian Review Is China’s Belt and Road working? A progress report from eight countries
Project delays after initial fanfare, projects sometimes experience serious delays. In Indonesia, construction on a $6 billion rail line is behind schedule and costs are escalating. Similar problems have plagued projects in Kazakhstan and Bangladesh. -
24-Mar-2018 Xinhua Across China: Chinese agricultural firms expand along Belt and Road
As the Belt and Road Initiative pushes ahead, China is encouraging its agricultural firms to expand overseas and promote agricultural trade with countries and regions along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. -
20-Mar-2018 Firstpost Xi Jinping pledges to expand Belt and Road, says China’s development does not pose threat to any country
Chinese President Xi Jinping struck a strongly nationalistic tone in his closing address on Tuesday to the annual session of the ceremonial parliament, saying China would never allow "one inch" of territory to be separated from it. -
16-Mar-2018 News Ghana 24 countries and regions enjoys from China’s FTAs
China has inked 16 free trade agreements, or FTAs, with 24 countries and regions so far, forming a network that is rooted in neighboring countries, radiating Belt and Road nations and open to the globe. -
14-Mar-2018 Financial Express Xi Jinping’s pet Belt and Road Initiative could be sticking point in India-China ties, say experts
Xi Jinping’s pet Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) can pose a "major challenge" in resetting China’s ties with India, says analysts, days after the Chinese parliament backed his plan to rule indefinitely amid Sino-India rapprochement following the Dokalam standoff. -
14-Mar-2018 Le Quotidien du Peuple La Chine a signé 16 accords de libre-échange impliquant 24 pays et régions
Les pays objets de ces 16 accords de libre-échange comprennent à la fois des pays voisins de la Chine, mais aussi d’autres pays situés le long du parcours de l’initiative «Une Ceinture, une Route».
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China FTA Network
Official website on China’s FTAs, maintained by MOFCOM
