Study On Legal Issues Of Construction Of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area

In the world economic integration movement, regional economic integration is developing rapidly due to the obstacles in the international multilateral trade negotiation. A large number of regional economic organizations represented by the EU and NAFTA are playing an increasingly important role in the international trade and the world economic developmentChina also took part in the regional economic integration actively. China-ASEAN Free Trade Area is an important practice for China. As the basis of building China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, China and ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement involves trade in goods, trade in services and dispute settlement mechanisms and other areas. The series of agreements provide a basic legal framework for the China-ASEAN free trade area. However, there are several disadvantages in the course of FTA building, such as incomplete of a series of legal system, the irrational economic structure, unsoundness of institution-building and so on. Therefore, starting with the international legal basis for building of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, the article analyzes the legal framework of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area construction, sums up the obstacles in the process of building the Free Trade Area, and then concludes the improvement methods in the construction of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.Apart from the introduction and the conclusion, the paper includes four parts.The first part describes the international legal basis of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. The paper analyzes Article 24 of GATT and its Understanding and Article 5 of the GATS, including the substantive conditions and procedural conditions, which provide the international legal basis for the construction of regional economic integration.The second part analyzes the main content of the China-ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement. It is the important foundation for the building of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. It states the object and purpose of the free trade area, as well as the broad provisions on trade in goods, trade in services, investment and dispute settlement mechanism system. And then the paper analyzes the significance of the Framework Agreement, which provides a legal basis for the building of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, and makes a model for the practice in the course of conclusion and participation in other regional economic organization for China.The third part addresses the detailed legal system of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. Based on China-ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement on Goods Trade Agreement, China-ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement on Trade in Services and the China-ASEAN Dispute Settlement Mechanism, the paper analyzes the main content of the above system. On trade in goods, the agreement provides for the adoption of restriction or elimination of tariff and non-tariff measures in order to realize the freedom of trade between the members of the free trade area. On trade in services, on the basis of the agreement of the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services, the members should strengthen bilateral cooperation in the services sector and reduce restrictions on trade in services for expanding the cooperation depth and breadth further. On the dispute settlement mechanism, the agreement clearly stipulates that the members agreed to implement a judicial process when they encountered any problems, which is an important practice in resolving the dispute through the dispute settlement mechanism.The forth part discusses the question and recommendation in the construction course of China-ASEAN free trade area. As there are several obstacles in the building of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, the paper proposes specific recommendations to improve the construction of the FTA. In the author's ideas, the member should reach an investment cooperation agreement through negotiations as soon as possible, establish and perfect a free trade area institution-building, adopt flexible modes of cooperation with the different ASEAN member countries and so on.