China, ASEAN to submit upgraded free trade deal to leaders in October, says China's foreign minister
Negotiations about the so-called 3.0 version of the free trade zone started in November 2022 and completed in May, seeking to cover areas such as the digital economy, green economy and supply chain connectivity.
China and ASEAN also agreed on a five-year action plan that specifies collaboration between the two sides in over 40 fields in the coming years, according to a statement published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, citing Wang's comments after attending the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
Wang also said the two sides agreed to strive to complete consultations next year on a code of conduct in the South China Sea - a set of guidelines aiming to manage disputes in the region, where Beijing and several ASEAN members have overlapping maritime claims.
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Australian journalists confronted by Chinese security guards during Albanese's Beijing trip
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The same price dynamic was at work with LNG, with spot prices for delivery to North Asia reaching a 15-month high of $16.10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) in the week to February 14. Strong European demand for LNG has kept Asian spot prices elevated, with the usual seasonal decline after the winter peak being far less pronounced in 2025. This in turn has led to a sharp drop in LNG imports, with commodity analysts Kpler estimating a 22% drop over the first half to 30.24 million metric tons. The weaker LNG imports were enough to drag China's total natural gas imports of both the super-chilled fuel and from pipelines down by 7.8% in the first half, according to official data. Copper is another example of price effects on China's imports, albeit in a somewhat different form. China's imports of unwrought copper dropped 4.6% in the first half to 2.633 million tons. This was largely because copper imports by the United States surged as traders anticipated the imposition of tariffs by President Donald Trump, with a 50% duty being announced last week. In effect, copper cargoes destined for China were diverted to the United States, netting a profit for both the Chinese buyers, who received a premium, and for the traders as they were able to get cargoes into the United States prior to the tariff, and now can take advantage of massive premium that now exists for the industrial metal. But while imports of refined copper were lower, arrivals of ores and concentrates rose 6.4% in the first half to 14.75 million tons, a sign that demand from smelters remained robust. Iron ore also shows the impact of prices, although this is largely a picture of modestly lower imports amid largely steady prices. Iron ore imports dropped 3.0% in the first half to 592.21 million tons amid slightly lower steel output and declining port inventories. Singapore-traded iron ore contracts ended at $97.70 a ton on Monday, and have traded in a $15 range so far in 2025 with a midpoint around $99. This stability has contrasted with the far wider ranges seen in other commodities such as crude oil and copper. Perhaps the only major commodity imported by China that isn't showing price sensitivity is coal, where both import volumes and prices have been declining. China's coal imports dropped 11.1% in the first half to 221.7 million tons, while the main Indonesian and Australian grades supplied to China fell to four-year lows, according to assessments by commodity price reporting agency Argus. China's domestic coal output rose a solid 6% in the first five months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, cutting the need for imports. But the overall message from China's commodity imports is that for commodities that it doesn't control the supply chains or dominate buying, China is becoming far more responsive to changes in prices and will adjust import volumes accordingly. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X, opens new tab. The views expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.
