In this photo dated to Sept 19, 2022, visitors take in the atmosphere at the 19th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The first round consultations of Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area negotiations started on Feb 7, 2023, according to China's Ministry of Commerce. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING – The first round consultations of Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) negotiations started on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
Relevant authorities of China and the ASEAN countries, as well as officials from the ASEAN Secretariat, attended the meeting via video link.
The two sides held in-depth discussions on the procedural rules, organizational arrangements and work plans of the negotiations, and worked out a timetable and road map for follow-up negotiations.

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In November 2022, China and ASEAN jointly announced the official launch of the negotiations. The two sides agreed that the negotiations will cover the fields including trade in goods, investment, digital and green economy, so as to build a more inclusive, modern, comprehensive and mutually beneficial China-ASEAN FTA.