China and Asean aim to clinch free-trade deal upgrade led by EVs, e-commerce

More e-commerce and tighter supply chain connections are expected after China and a key 10-nation bloc of Southeast Asian countries said they were pushing to finish talks toward upgrading a landmark free-trade deal, analysts said.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which encompasses a 673 million population and several fast-growing economies, is “actively working” with China to upgrade the Asean-China Free Trade Area pact, the bloc’s secretary general Kao Kim Hourn told a joint leadership event in China last week.