Ministry Minutes｜China ready to work with ASEAN countries to implement FTA 3.0: foreign ministry

China stands ready to work with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to fully implement the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) 3.0 and build a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

This photo taken on Sept. 20, 2026 shows a view of the Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center, the venue for the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo, in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Photo: Xinhua)

The just-concluded China-ASEAN Expo has become a "golden name card" for cooperation between China and ASEAN, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular news briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.

"Over the past 23 years, the expo has witnessed the upgrading of China-ASEAN cooperation from a 'Golden Decade' to a 'Diamond Decade' and now to the China-ASEAN FTA 3.0," he added.

Guo mentioned that 2026's expo also features a dedicated exhibition area for the Pinglu Canal.

The canal's opening will significantly shorten maritime shipping routes between Southwest China and ASEAN countries, opening up a new channel for bilateral trade, Guo noted.

(Compiled by Yang Yang and intern Song Weihang)