China, ASEAN complete negotiations on free trade area 3.0

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have completed negotiations on their free trade area version 3.0, with the formal signing to take place before the end of the year, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.

The two sides announced the agreement at a special ASEAN Economic Ministers consultation session with China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao Tuesday.

The FTA 3.0 contains nine new chapters, including digital economy, green economy, supply chain interconnection, competition and consumer protection, small, medium and micro enterprises, and economic and technical cooperation.

It is conducive to promoting broader and deeper regional economic integration under the new situation, and will vigorously promote the deep integration of the production and supply chains of the two sides, the ministry said.

The upgraded version, as a priority for economic and trade cooperation between the two sides, is a landmark achievement in jointly maintaining and deepening free trade, demonstrating the strong vitality of free trade and open cooperation, according to the ministry.

It will inject greater certainty into regional and global trade, and play a leading and exemplary role for countries to adhere to openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, and will effectively promote the building of a China-ASEAN community with a shared future, the ministry said.

Negotiations began in November 2022 and were concluded substantially in October 2024 after nine rounds spanning nearly two years.

The ASEAN-China Free Trade Area was first signed in 2002 and came into force on January 1, 2010.

ASEAN, made up of 10 Southeast Asian countries, is China's largest trading partner. In 2024, bilateral trade increased amounted to 6.99 trillion yuan (968 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for 15.9 percent of China's foreign trade, according to official statistics.

China, ASEAN complete negotiations on free trade area 3.0

China, ASEAN complete negotiations on free trade area 3.0

China, ASEAN complete negotiations on free trade area 3.0

China, ASEAN complete negotiations on free trade area 3.0

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that the situation in Iran is "under total control" following violence linked to protests that spiked over the weekend.

Addressing foreign diplomats in Tehran, the foreign minister noted that armed terrorist groups had infiltrated the protests, attempting to divert them from their legitimate course. He claimed that evidence has been gathered showing Iranian security forces being shot at, with the aim of causing further casualties. He accused the United States and Israel of exploiting the unrest to interfere in Iran's internal affairs.

Araghchi further stated that the government is closely monitoring developments on the streets, emphasizing that "the situation has come under control." He also affirmed that internet services, curtailed during the unrest, would be restored after coordination with security agencies.

The government has engaged in dialogue with merchants and protest representatives and initiated reforms to address grievances related to price hikes and currency depreciation. Iran has taken a series of actions and measures to respond to the demands of peaceful demonstrators, the foreign minister said.

Earlier on Sunday, Araghchi said that clear evidence links recent riots and vandalism of public facilities in Iran to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. This came after former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned Mossad agents operating on Iran's streets in a social media post. The Iranian foreign minister asserted that police are being attacked by "terrorists" acting under the direction of Israeli operatives, whom Pompeo publicly acknowledged.

The protests initially erupted over a sharp depreciation of the rial and sweeping subsidy reforms. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign-linked agents and U.S. sanctions.

Iranian foreign minister says situation "fully under control," accuses Israeli intelligence of stoking unrest