FTA negotiation, as a typical example of regional economic integration, developed rapidly in recent years, covered nearly all countries and regions worldwide and became a trend in global economy nowadays. By Sept. 2005, total 334 regional trading arrangements like FTA were formally submitted to WTO, 80% of which were signed in the past 10 years, and another 27 arrangements were newly added from Jan. through Sept. 2005. Most of WTO members took part in more than 1 FTA or other regional trading arrangements.
FTAs were titled in various forms but main contents were that relative members implemented non-tariff measures and non-tariff barrier on most of goods trade and further open up service and investment market to each other on the basis of WTO commitment. Compared with multi-lateral negotiation like WTO, FTA negotiation had obvious advantages of short-time, steady progress and high speed.
Outline of the Tenth Five-Year Plan drafted in 2001 definitely confirmed "active participation in Multi-lateral trading system and international regional economic cooperation" as one of important ways to improve the level of opening-up. 5 years ago, FTAs in China were established, numbers increasing steadily and made a good start.
So far, 9 FTAs were negotiated to set up, covering 27 countries and regions and accounting for one quarter of total foreign trade of China in 2004. Especially in the latest 2 years, CEPA was expanded gradually, tariff reduction program of the China-ASEAN FTA were implemented in an all round way. China-Chile FTA Agreement and ASEAN-China FTA Early Harvest Program were formally signed. FTA negations between China and New Zealand, China and Australia, China and GCC made steady progresses.