China and ASEAN Signs Agreement of Trade in Services of ACFTA

The 14th ASEAN-China Summit was held on 18 November 2011 in Bali, Indonesia. At the Summit, Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming signed, on behalf of the Chinese government, the Protocol on Enforcement of the Second Package of Specific Commitments under the Agreement of Trade in Services of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (ACFTA). The Protocol shall enter into force on January 1, 2012, when each country completing internal legal procedures.

The Agreement on Trade in Services of ACFTA was signed in January of 2007. According to provisions of the Agreement, the parties shall start negotiation of second package of specific commitments, in July 2007 when the Agreement entered into force, to further decontrol trade in services of ACFTA. Compared with the first package, China made adjustment in such sectors as commercial services, telecommunication, construction, distribution, finance, tourism and transportation, based on China’s commitment to the WTO. Meanwhile, ASEAN member states have covered more sectors in the second package, more open than their WTO commitment, and offer by many of them are more preferential than that in WTO new round negotiation.

In recent years, with the rapid construction of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, China-ASEAN trade in services has been growing fast. The total value of bilateral trade in services has increased from US$17.9 billion in 2007 to US$26.8 billion in 2010. In the first half year of 2011, the total bilateral trade value reached US$17.4 billion, up by 34.9% year on year.