China to deepen ties with ASEAN by upgrading free trade agreement
By Fan Feifei and Zhou Mo in Nanning | China Daily | Updated: 2015-09-19 08:03
China has said it will finish negotiations on upgrading the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area called CAFTA by the end of this year, said Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli on Friday.
He said economic and trade cooperation is the base and guide of the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative.
"China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will further deepen economic and trade cooperation and mutually create an upgraded version of CAFTA," Zhang said at the opening ceremony of the 12th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
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