China's Free Trade Agreement

China is participating in an increasing number of free trade agreements.

China is a member of several free trade agreements (FTAs), and has liberalized its trade policies extensively over the past two decades. The type of free trade agreement used depends on the country with which it trades.

The World Trade Organization (WTO)

China ascended to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. As part of its ascension obligation, China cut tariffs of manufactured goods, opened more of its economy to foreign investment and introduced laws regarding intellectual property rights protection.

ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA)

China is a member of the ASEAN Free Trade Area, which contains free trade treaties with China and South East Asian countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. This agreement reduced import tariffs with these countries, allowing businesses to trade cheaply.

Bilateral Free Trade Agreements

China has several bilateral free trade agreements that involve China and one other country. China signed recent bilateral trade agreements with New Zealand, Chile and Pakistan. As of 2009, China has been negotiating new bilateral trade agreements with Australia and Norway.

References

• World Trade Organization: China and the WTO
• Worldtrade Management Services: China's Free Trade Agreements
• Wilson Center: China and the WTO

Resources

• Ministry of Commerce, PRC: China FTA Network