(VOVWORLD) - The 27th round of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations will be held between July 22 and 31 in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said Thursday.
It will be the first RCEP conference in China, said Ministry spokesperson Gao Feng, adding that China will continue to respect and uphold the pivotal role the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plays in RCEP and work to ensure the negotiations are finalized within the year.
The previous round of negotiations, concluded on Wednesday in the Australian city of Melbourne, saw progress in several areas, Gao added. RCEP is a proposed free trade agreement between the 10 ASEAN members and the six Asia-Pacific countries with which ASEAN has free trade agreements - Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand.