China, ASEAN mark establishment of free trade area | Top Russian news and analysis online | 'RIA Novosti' newswire: “China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held a ceremony on Thursday to mark the establishment of a free trade area involving eleven states and a population of 1.9 billion.
The free trade area was officially established on January 1 and boasts some $4.5 trillion in trade volume.”