China joins Bangkok Accord

China joins Bangkok Accord

BANGKOK (AFP): China has joined the United Nations' Bangkok Agreement on trade, bringing the total membership of the Asian preferential trading framework to six, the UN said Friday.

China acceded to the 1975 trade pact earlier this week, joining current members India, South Korea, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Laos, the UN said in a statement.

"China's accession is significant because it marks that country's debut into regional trading agreements," said the statement by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

The UN said it was significant that members of the agreement would have access on concessional terms to the markets of two economic giants -- India and China.

"(It is) significant that China has acceded to Asia's only regional preferential trading agreement ahead of its accession to the World Trade Organization."

ESCAP's headquarters in Bangkok functions as the secretariat for the Bangkok Agreement.