ASEAN meeting members Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( are discussing building an Asian free-trade area (FTA) that will cover 28 percent of world's total export volume. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao joined the discussion on Tuesday in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh.

It's the beginning of what could become the second-largest free-trade area in the world after the WTO.

Talks to build an Asian free-trade area, namely the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), were officially launched on Tuesday. ASEAN said it expected to finish negotiations by the end of 2015.

Liang Wentao from the Chinese Commerce Ministry said, "As the free trade area is pushing forward, China and ASEAN countries should strengthen mutual trust, from which companies and people from all countries involved will benefit."

The RCEP agreement, if reached, will be the biggest rival of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The TPP is led by the U.S. and does not include China.

Meanwhile, the trade ministers of China, Japan and South Korea agreed to start negotiations in early 2013 on a trilateral free trade agreement after their leaders showed a willingness to separate economic issues from their territorial disputes.

The trio account for about a fifth of the global economy. The FTA between the three countries is seen as an important step towards broader trade and economic integration in the region.

(CNTV.cn November 21, 2012)