China expects to work with countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to push for the early entry into force of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.
Guo was requested to talk about China's expectations for the 29th China-ASEAN Summit, to be held in Manila, the Philippines, from November 15 to 16, which Chinese Premier Li Qiang will attend.
"This year marks the fifth anniversary of the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership. Over the past five years, with guidance from Chinese and ASEAN leaders, cooperation has been robust and fruitful and stayed at the forefront of the region, delivering benefits to all our countries and peoples and contributing to peace, stability and prosperity in the region," Guo said.
Peace, development and prosperity are the greatest aspirations of the people in the region as the world enters a new period of turbulence and transformation, Guo noted.
"China looks to work with ASEAN countries at the summit to strengthen solidarity and mutual trust, build consensus on cooperation, bring into force the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol as early as possible, and deepen cooperation in AI, digital economy, energy security, connectivity, poverty reduction, development and so on to jointly build a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home, and provide greater stability and certainty for the peace and development in the region," he said.
The upgraded free trade pact was officially signed on October 28, 2025, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, ahead of the 28th China-ASEAN Summit. The China-ASEAN free trade area was initiated in 2002 and fully implemented as Version 1.0 in 2010. A subsequent Version 2.0 protocol was signed in 2015 and came into full effect in 2019. Negotiations for the Version 3.0 upgrade began in November 2022 and were successfully concluded in May 2025.
China looks to promote upgraded free trade pact's early entry into force with ASEAN: spokesperson
The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and China Global Television Network (CGTN) have hosted a side event on green transition at the 31st meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Antalya, Türkiye.
Titled "Global Open Class: Green Transition in Action" and held at the China Pavilion, the event brought together experts for a roundtable discussion on global climate action.
The roundtable explored how technology, leadership and communication can accelerate the green transition, and how China's experience can be adapted to the needs of different countries.
The event featured the release of four practical guides drawing on Chinese sustainable development cases and the launch of two global capacity-development initiatives. The guides addressed smart mobility, rural circular economies, climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction, among other areas.
Participants also watched the trailer for CGTN's new documentary film Path to Zero, which explores how China is changing the way it powers daily life, how its industries operate and how communities care for the places they call home.
He Guojun, director of the Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), said that reliable data are essential for effective environmental action.
"First, how to address the information problem, where you need basically a monitoring network that covers almost everything, so that you have air quality monitoring, water quality monitoring, soil quality monitoring, and they have to cover all the sectors. Having that information is fundamental," said He.
Michael Adalla, senior program officer of UNITAR's Division for Prosperity, said the "Global Open Class: Green Transition in Action" side event created a space to share expertise and insights.
"The open classroom that we have done today (Nov 9), the global open classroom, has been very well received as part of sharing of ideas, sharing of expertise, sharing insights. And this is a basis of what we could provide with the developing countries," said Adalla.
Adalla also stressed that a key focus must be human capital.
"It's important to build skills at the individual level, build skills at the capacity level. The most sustainable investment is to empower people to bring knowledge into action," said Adalla.
Special event on green transition held at COP31
