The updated free trade agreement between China and Peru comes into effect this month. This process was the result of years of negotiations.
The new agreement includes updates to seven chapters of the original treaty, which was signed in 2010. It is worth noting that this treaty was one of the first concluded with a Latin American country.
According to Dan Collins from CGTN, who is covering events from Lima, this agreement marks a new stage in bilateral relations.
The U.S. government has requested that China fully and immediately comply with the agreements established in 2025 as part of discussions aimed at reducing trade friction between the two countries.
Scott Bessent, the U.S. Secretary of Finance, emphasized during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, He Lifeng, the importance for China to fully implement the commitments made in Busan, South Korea, in October 2025. Bessent's Department released a statement detailing this position.
Bessent also expressed concerns regarding certain recent actions taken by China, although the statement did not specify what these measures were.
Jamieson Greer, White House representative for Trade, was present at the discussion. This meeting took place shortly before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which Donald Trump is scheduled to attend.
This will be the first time Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Trump since his visit to Washington at the end of September 2025. On that occasion, both agreed to a trade truce valid until January 10, a pact that was reaffirmed in October in South Korea, resulting in the cessation of customs tariff increases and other trade restrictions.
The root of the controversy lies in access to so-called Chinese rare earth minerals, substances essential for the automotive, defense, and smartphone manufacturing sectors.
The protocol modernizing the free trade agreement (FTA) between China and Peru officially came into effect on Sunday, injecting new energy into bilateral economic and trade relations.
This protocol was initially signed on November 14, 2024, and aims to optimize provisions across various areas of the original FTA.
Under the updated structure, seven existing chapters were strengthened: rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, intellectual property rights, trade in services, temporary entry for business persons, and investments.
Additionally, five new provisions were introduced concerning cooperation in standards and conformity assessment, competition policy, e-commerce, global supply chains, as well as environmental and trade issues.
According to a statement published on Sunday by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, both sides also agreed on future provisions for negotiations on negative lists in the areas of trade in services and investment, striving to further expand openness in these fields.
Since the original FTA entered into force in 2010, bilateral trade has grown significantly by almost seven times, increasing from $6.4 billion in 2009 to $50.4 billion in 2025.
The Ministry noted that the updated agreement will open up new opportunities for trade and investment, optimize the business environment for companies in both countries, and give a fresh impetus to their economic and trade ties. It is worth noting that the FTA between China and Peru is the first comprehensive agreement of this kind that China has concluded with a Latin American country.
