Recently, according to the special meeting of China ASEAN Economic and Trade Ministers, the economic and trade ministers of China and ASEAN jointly announced the comprehensive completion of the China ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 negotiations. This achievement has stirred up waves in the field of economic cooperation in the Asia Pacific region and even globally, marking a new historical stage in the economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN. In the global trade map, China and ASEAN occupy extremely important positions, with both sides being each other's largest trading partners. Looking back at 2024, the growth trend of bilateral trade volume is very strong, with a growth rate of 9% and a trade volume of 6.99 trillion yuan, accounting for 15.9% of China's total foreign trade. Industry experts believe that the successful completion of the Free Trade Zone 3.0 negotiations has provided a stronger engine for bilateral trade. It will further reduce trade costs, make trade processes more efficient and convenient, and improve the level of trade facilitation. In the coming years, it is highly likely that the bilateral trade volume will exceed the trillion dollar mark, and at that time, both companies and consumers will gain more tangible benefits from it. From a global perspective, the current multilateral trading system is facing severe challenges. In this context, China and ASEAN have fully completed the Free Trade Area 3.0 negotiations, sending a strong signal to the world that both sides firmly support free trade and open cooperation. This measure fully demonstrates that both sides are committed to maintaining a rules based multilateral trading system and resolutely resisting all forms of trade protectionism. As an important global economy and trading entity, the cooperation between China and ASEAN will inject precious certainty into global trade, greatly enhance market confidence, and provide strong impetus for the recovery and sustainable development of the world economy. According to analysis, the role of China ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 in the process of regional economic integration is immeasurable. It has established more unified and coordinated rules and standards for both parties, effectively reducing trade barriers and investment obstacles caused by differences in rules. In key areas such as technology, standards, and certification, mutual recognition and integration between the two sides can be promoted, which will promote the deep integration of industrial and supply chains in the region and significantly enhance the overall competitiveness of the regional economy. At the same time, in terms of supply chain interconnection, the cooperation between the two sides will be further strengthened. By improving logistics infrastructure, such as building more modern ports and logistics parks, enhancing customs clearance efficiency, utilizing advanced information technology to achieve rapid customs clearance, and strengthening supply chain risk management, a series of measures will be taken to fully build a stable, efficient, and smooth regional supply chain network, and consolidate the position of the regional supply chain in the global industrial chain. From a strategic perspective, the construction of the China ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 is a priority for economic and trade cooperation between the two sides, a landmark achievement in jointly maintaining and deepening free trade, and a key institutional guarantee for the construction of the China ASEAN community with a shared future. With the continuous growth of trade and investment, personnel exchanges between the two sides will become more frequent, which will further promote people to people exchanges, create a better social atmosphere for cooperation in various fields such as politics, economy, culture, and society, and promote common prosperity and development between the two sides. The digital economy and green economy are the key areas of focus for this 3.0 negotiation. It is understood that in the field of digital economy, both sides will work together to promote innovation and application of digital technology, and carry out in-depth cooperation in various aspects such as e-commerce, digital payments, cross-border e-commerce, etc., to help the development of digital industries in both sides. At the same time, both sides will jointly explore trade and investment rules in the digital economy era, contributing unique China ASEAN wisdom to global digital economy governance. In the field of green economy, facing the global challenge of climate change, both sides will strengthen cooperation in new energy development, clean energy utilization, and promotion of energy-saving and environmental protection technologies, striving to achieve a positive interaction between economic development and environmental protection, and contribute to global sustainable development. For ASEAN countries, many favorable factors will also follow one after another. Small and medium-sized enterprises will have more opportunities to enter the Chinese market, and the space to expand their business in the region will also be broader, thereby obtaining more market opportunities and resources. Both governments will also introduce more policy support and facilitation measures to help these enterprises enhance their competitiveness, better adapt to the changes brought about by the China ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0, achieve growth and development, and create more job opportunities. With the development of the economy, exchanges and cooperation in education, culture, tourism and other fields will also be promoted, and the cultural life of the people will be richer. The exchange and integration of diverse cultures in the region will also be further deepened, and the quality of life and happiness of the people will be significantly improved. In 2002, China and the ten ASEAN countries embarked on the journey of building a free trade zone, successively reaching and implementing agreements on goods trade, services trade, and investment. In 2010, the China ASEAN Free Trade Zone was fully established, with zero tariffs on goods trade covering more than 90% of the tariff items of both sides. The 1.0 version of the China ASEAN Free Trade Zone was officially born; In 2015, both parties reached an upgrade agreement, which was fully implemented in 2019 and upgraded to version 2.0, further increasing market openness; In 2021, China proposed to start the construction of version 3.0 as soon as possible, which received positive responses from various countries. Negotiations officially began in November 2022, and after nearly two years, they were substantially concluded in October 2024, until the comprehensive completion of negotiations today. The comprehensive completion of the China ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 negotiations is an important milestone in the process of economic and trade cooperation between the two sides. It is an accelerator for deepening economic cooperation, a powerful driving force for promoting regional economic integration, injecting new impetus into global economic growth, and a solid guarantee for bringing benefits to both sides' enterprises and people. In the future, both sides will continue to uphold the principles of equality, mutual benefit, and win-win cooperation, and make every effort to promote the implementation of various achievements in the 3.0 version of the free trade zone. They will make unremitting efforts to build a closer China ASEAN community with a shared future, and work together to create a new future for regional cooperation. (New Society)