SECOND ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS ON MOLDOVA-CHINA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT CONCLUDED IN BEIJING

The Moldovan delegation, which returned from Beijing, reported to Minister of Economy and Infrastructure Chiril Gaburici about the results of the second round of negotiations on the draft Agreement on free trade between Moldova and China.

According to the Ministry of Economy, the provisions of the Agreement were discussed at the sitting and the lists of goods, in whose duty-free exporting both countries are interested, were presented. The lists have to be discussed during the next round of negotiations, which will take place in Chisinau in September.

Gaburici urged the responsible agencies to hold the negotiations correctly.

“We are interested in extending the sales markets, but not by all means, but on conditions that are profitable both for us and for the Chinese side. The Chinese market means over 1.3 billion consumers and we would like to supply to them wine, grains, dried fruit, products of animal origin and industrial goods”, he said.

The next round of negotiations will be focused on issues that concern the origin of produce, goods’ access to the market, technical trade barriers and trade defense measures.

According to the Ministry of Economy, in Moldova there are 85 companies with the Chinese capital (4.8 million lei). The volume of external trade between the two states in January-May 2018 exceeded US$245.5 million – 36.5% more than over the equivalent period of the previous year.