In addition to China’s 21 Free Trade Agreements, the country is negotiating other FTAs.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) reported that, according to Chinese authorities, China is holding discussions with a view to signing or updating FTAs with Belarus, Honduras, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Iceland, Israel, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Moldova, Norway, Palestine, Panama, Peru and Sri Lanka.
During the past three years, China signed an FTA with Cambodia and joined the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), with both agreements entering into force in January 2022.
In January 2021, the China-Mauritius FTA entered into force.
In addition, the Protocol Updating the China-New Zealand FTA was signed on January 26, 2021 and entered into force on April 7, 2022.
Free Trade Agreements
The most recent FTA was signed on October 17, 2023, between China and Serbia.
Once fully implemented, the agreement will reduce applied tariffs to zero on about 90% of goods imported into each country, namely 10,412 Serbian products (tariff lines) and 8,930 Chinese products.
A liberalization period of 10 years is foreseen for most products, and 15 years for the others. The agreement has not yet entered into force.
These are China’s Free Trade Agreements:
- China-Serbia FTA
- China-Ecuador FTA
- China-Nicaragua FTA
- Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
- China-Cambodia FTA
- China-Mauritius FTA
- China-Maldives FTA
- China-Georgia FTA
- China-Australia FTA
- China-Korea FTA
- China-Switzerland FTA
- China-Iceland FTA
- China-Costa Rica FTA
- China-Peru FTA
- China-Singapore FTA (including update)
- China-New Zealand FTA (including update)
- China-Chile FTA (including update)
- China-Pakistan FTA (including second phase)
- China-ASEAN FTA (including upgrade) Closer economic and partnership agreement between mainland China.
- Mainland China-Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement.
- Mainland China-Macao Closer Economic Partnership Agreement.
Ecuador
In May 2023, China signed a free trade agreement with Ecuador. Negotiations began in February 2022.
According to the agreement, China and Ecuador will remove duties on 90% of their products. Sixty percent of these duties will be eliminated immediately when the agreement enters into force.