China and ASEAN signed the upgraded free trade agreement

China and the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN have inked a revised trade pact that broadens their collaboration into digital and green ￰0￱ upgraded “version 3.0” of the Free Trade Agreement was officially signed during an ASEAN leaders’ summit in Kuala Lumpur, ￰1￱ agreement comes at a time when nations are seeking to shield themselves from escalating global trade frictions, particularly with the ￰2￱ is the first major overhaul of the ASEAN–China FTA since its 2010 ￰3￱ had suggested that the deal would focus on improving agriculture and digital services China has moved to expand cooperation with ASEAN, which has a collective GDP of $3.8 trillion, as Washington’s tariffs weigh on global ￰4￱ revamped pact includes provisions for the digital and green economies, as well as other emerging ￰5￱ had earlier signaled that the deal would strengthen trade in areas such as agriculture, digital services, and pharmaceuticals with ￰6￱ considers the renewed cooperation as a key step in navigating the current global economic climate.

ASEAN, its 11-member regional partner, remains its top trading ally, with trade totaling $771 ￰7￱ on the upgraded ASEAN–China Free Trade Agreement began in late 2022 and concluded in May of this year, shortly after Trump’s new wave of tariffs took ￰8￱ China and ASEAN continue to participate in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a trade pact that accounts for approximately 30% of global GDP and one-third of the world’s ￰9￱ hosted the first RCEP leaders’ summit in five years in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, preceding the signing of the new ASEAN–China Free Trade ￰10￱ to analysts, participation in frameworks such as RCEP might offer some protection against US tariffs, but the competing interests of its members limit its ￰11￱ and the US signed an agreement on securing key minerals and rare earths Meanwhile, on Monday, US President Donald Trump held talks with Japan’s recently appointed Prime Minister , Sanae Takaichi, the nation’s first woman leader, to agree on a framework ensuring access to key minerals and rare earths, considering China’s new restrictions on the ￰12￱ heaped praise on Japan’s first female leader as the two signed a deal during Trump’s visit to Tokyo.

Takaichi, a protege of Trump’s late friend and golfing buddy, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, commended Trump’s efforts to resolve global conflicts, pledging to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize, according to Trump’s spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt. A White House statement released earlier stated that the two countries will work together to strengthen their rare earth and mineral supply chains by addressing unfair trade and non-market ￰13￱ two sides were also working toward completing a trade deal. Japan’s former leader had reached an agreement with the US, setting most export tariffs at 15% , but the deal has yet to be ￰14￱ White House told reporters: “Within six months of the date of the framework, Japan and the US intend to take measures to support projects to generate end-products for delivery to buyers in the US, Japan, and like-minded nations.” Still, Trump is seeking deeper market access for the United States in Japan, particularly in the automotive, agricultural, and technology sectors.

He’s also pressuring Tokyo to buy more US rice and soybeans and ease restrictions on American ￰15￱ is also expected to offer a package of US investments under a $550 billion deal reached this year, including shipbuilding and a commitment to robust purchases of US soybeans, gas, and pickup trucks, sources familiar with the talks ￰16￱ gestures could blunt any pressure from Trump on Tokyo to increase its security spending in the face of an increasingly assertive China, which Takaichi sought to pre-empt by pledging to expedite plans to raise defense spending to 2% of GDP. “Everything I know from Shinzo and others, you will be one of the great prime ministers,” Trump told Takaichi as they prepared for discussions, in the presence of their delegations, at Tokyo’s Akasaka ￰17￱ your project in front of crypto’s top minds?

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