China, ASEAN to talk trade pact

China, ASEAN to talk trade pact

Agence France-Presse, Los Cabos, Mexico

China's trade minister said Thursday Beijing would officially
launch negotiations on a free trade accord framework with
Southeast Asia when Asian leaders gather in Cambodia next month.

Shi Guangsheng, Chinese Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic
Cooperation, unveiled the plan at a ministerial meeting of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum here.

"We will officially launch negotiations in Cambodia in
November," Shi told his APEC partners, according to a Japanese
delegation official.

Cambodia is to host a four-day summit on November 1 which will
draw leaders from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam as well
as China, Japan and South Korea.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
and China are now drafting a framework for comprehensive economic
relations including a free trade pact.

The two sides have yet to agree on a list of products to be
covered by early tariff cuts under an "early harvest" element in
the proposed free trade agreement, which would cover nearly two
billion people and will be the world's biggest free trade zone if
implemented.