China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) is accelerating the domestic ratification of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) 3.0 Upgrade Protocol and is collaborating with ASEAN to promote the protocol's early entry into force and implementation.

Ministry spokesperson He Yadong said at a regular press conference that the signing of the protocol is a significant milestone in the cooperation between the two sides. It marks that the economic integration process between the two sides has expanded from traditional trade and investment liberalization and facilitation to emerging fields such as digitalization, green development, standards, and production and supply chain.

The 3.0 upgrade protocol will boost regional digital technology empowerment, green industry cooperation, interconnection of production and supply chain, and alignment of standards and regulations, facilitating the accelerated integration and development of the large market and production and supply chain within the region, said He.

Enterprises from China and ASEAN recognize the huge business opportunities presented in the protocol, said the spokesperson.

It is hoped that the enterprises will be guided to understand, grasp and make good use of the new rules and new opportunities of the China-ASEAN FTA, and will truly benefit from it, he added.

The protocol was signed on Oct. 28 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, ahead of the 28th China-ASEAN Summit.