To date, China has signed 22 free trade agreements with 29 countries and regions, accounting for approximately one-third of China’s total foreign trade volume.
China is actively promoting the signing and upgrading of free trade agreements, demonstrating a high level of openness, opening up broader market opportunities for investors and service providers from both sides, further strengthening cooperation in emerging fields, and contributing to global common development.
The number of partners continues to grow
Free trade agreements are bringing new momentum, with frequent reports of mutually beneficial developments between China and its free trade partners.
According to Latin American Press, Honduras and China are currently advancing negotiations on a free trade agreement. Honduran Minister of Economic Development Celato stated that the two sides will negotiate on issues such as the scope of goods exchange, the duration of tax reductions, and the percentage of Chinese products eligible for duty-free entry into Central American countries. The report noted that since establishing diplomatic relations in March 2023, trade volume between China and Honduras has continued to grow. The website of Honduras’s La Prensa newspaper reported that the Honduran government considers the first year since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Honduras to be “highly successful,” with both sides committed to promoting trade cooperation and fostering common development.
Nicaraguan media reported that since the beginning of 2024, the volume of sugar exported from Nicaragua to China has already exceeded 50% of the total quota specified in the free trade agreement signed between the two countries (50,000 tons annually).
According to a report by EFE, China and Nicaragua have elevated their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership, and the free trade agreement between the two countries has officially come into effect. In terms of goods trade, the two sides plan to eventually implement zero tariffs on more than 95% of their respective tariff items. Currently, 60% of Nicaragua’s export products, such as beef, sugar, seafood, honey, horse tack, and textiles, have already entered the Chinese market duty-free.
According to the website of Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently met with New Zealand Trade Minister Michael McClean in Wellington and said that China-New Zealand relations remain at the forefront of China’s relations with developed countries. China is willing to actively implement the upgraded version of the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement with New Zealand, launch negotiations on the negative list for services trade as soon as possible, and promote bilateral cooperation to new heights.
According to a report by Latin American News Agency, Ecuador’s National Assembly recently approved a free trade agreement with China. Under the agreement, 99.6% of Ecuador’s exports to China will immediately or gradually be exempted from tariffs. Ecuador is the fourth country in Latin America to conclude a free trade agreement with China.
Serbia is China’s 29th free trade partner and its first in Central and Eastern Europe. Through the free trade agreement, China and Serbia will achieve high-level mutual openness, injecting new momentum into the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and the deepening of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.
The number of “new partners” continues to grow, while relations with “old friends” remain stable. The 2024 Annual Report on the Outlook for the Asian Economy and the Process of Integration, released at the 2024 Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference, noted that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) has made positive progress. The report stated that since the RCEP came into full effect for all signatory countries, it has continuously released institutional dividends, driving the vigorous development of trade and investment within the region, strengthening the connections between industrial chains and supply chains, and injecting strong momentum into promoting regional economic growth and economic integration, while contributing new impetus to the world economy’s recovery and growth.
Continued Release of Benefits
The signing of free trade agreements between China and multiple countries has helped eliminate trade barriers, stabilize the scale of foreign trade, and bring tangible benefits to China and its trading partners. According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, in 2023, China’s total import and export value of goods reached 41.76 trillion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 0.2%. Both import and export volumes continued to grow, with growth rates of 2.9% and 3.1%, respectively. China’s share of the international export market remained at around 14%.
China’s impressive achievements in import and export trade are largely attributable to its high-level cooperation with free trade partners. China’s network of high-standard free trade zones continues to expand, with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) now fully effective across its 15 member states. China has also signed or upgraded free trade agreements with multiple countries, including Ecuador, Nicaragua, Serbia, and Singapore, resulting in an increasing number of free trade partners and the continued release of free trade dividends.
Professor Wang Yong, Director of the Center for International Political Economy at Peking University’s School of International Relations, stated in an interview with this newspaper that the signing of free trade agreements enables China’s expanding market to be shared globally, helping participants achieve complementary resource advantages, and is one of the key growth drivers for the world economy.
China has signed or upgraded free trade agreements with multiple countries, driving deeper cooperation in industrial chains and supply chains. Taking the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as an example, in 2023, China’s exports to other RCEP member countries reached 6.41 trillion yuan, accounting for 27% of China’s total exports—an increase of 1.1 percentage points compared to 2021. Among these, exports from the equipment manufacturing sector expanded by 32.8%. Lithium batteries, automotive parts, and flat-panel display modules all saw significant growth. During the same period, China imported 6.19 trillion yuan from other RCEP member countries, accounting for 34.4% of China’s total imports. Among these, imports of energy products increased by 31.2% compared to 2021, with the proportion of China’s total energy product imports rising by 2.5 percentage points to 32.4%. Strengthened cooperation in industrial chains and supply chains will help relevant countries achieve industrial optimization and upgrading together, injecting more confidence into high-quality development.
