ASEAN-China agency to raise FTA awareness

The ASEAN-China Center aims to help China and members of the Southeast Asian bloc extract more benefit from the regional free trade agreement, the center's Secretary-General Ma Mingqiang told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

The inter-governmental organization will provide lectures by economic experts about the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area, which by 2015 will include China and all 10 ASEAN member countries, beginning in May in China, Ma said.

"We will tell businesspeople directly what the ACFTA is and how they can use it reduce their costs and strengthen their companies," said Ma.