China’s Approach to FTAs with Other Countries: What Can Sri Lanka Expect?

Janaka Wijayasiri-Sep 03, 2014

IPS trade economists Janaka Wijayasiri and Dharshani Premaratne argue that if China’s FTAs with other countries are any indication, Sri Lanka can expect a flexible and collaborative free trade agreement, but there are five key areas that need tackling in the FTA negotiation.

In a previous article on the proposed Sri Lanka- China Free Trade Agreement (FTA), we looked at the potential to expand bilateral trade. Since then, the two countries have finalized a Joint Feasibility Study on 11 March 2014. As expected, the study reported that the FTA would bring substantial economic and trade benefits to the two countries, with both governments expressing hope that the deal will be implemented at an early date. Given that series of negotiations are likely to begin to hammer out an agreement in the near future, it is worth looking at the main features of China’s existing FTAs with other countries to get a sense of what a possible FTA with China would look like.
China’s Approach to FTAs With Other Countries What Can Sri Lanka Expect by Thavam