Chinese and ASEAN leaders are gathering to sign the “China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol” within this year, a move designed to enhance regional economic integration. The two blocs are each other’s largest trading partner for the fifth consecutive year, with trade totaling 5.57 trillion yuan in the first three quarters, a 9.6% year-on-year increase.
Cooperation is broadening across infrastructure, digital transformation, and green transitions. Connectivity projects like the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway and Malaysia’s East Coast Rail Link are strengthening regional mobility, while the “Air Silk Road” facilitates e-commerce logistics. In industrial cooperation, Chinese investment is driving Indonesia’s green transition, particularly in the electric vehicle (EV) sector, with new megaprojects covering the full supply chain from nickel mining to battery recycling. Furthermore, mutual visa-exemption agreements with Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand are deepening people-to-people exchanges and boosting tourism.
