China plans to expand the country’s free trade network with agreement negotiations with Norway and other countries.

According to Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, China wishes to enlarge its “circle of friends” and expand with trading partners across the world while eliminating more tariffs on goods and increase market access for service trade and investment.

In an interview with Chinese Xinhua News Agency, the minister said that these efforts will elevate levels opening-up and that China will facilitate China-Norway free trade agreement negotiations as well as those with China-Japan-Republic of Korea, the China-Gulf Cooperation Council, and China-Israel FTAs.

The minister said that China will also actively consider joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a free trade agreement between Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore, and Vietnam signed in 2018.

China will also attempt to ensure that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a proposed free trade agreement between the ten member states of ASEAN comes into effect and is implemented as soon as possible.

Source: ScandAsia