In 1999, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji said at the third China-ASEAN Summit that China expected to strengthen connections with ASEAN, which was echoed by the organization's member countries.

In November 2000, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji first raised a proposal at the fourth China-ASEAN Summit to construct a free trade area (FTA) and suggested the creation of a panel to research the feasibility of an FTA .

In March 2001, a research panel on the China-ASEAN FTA was established. The panel believed that the FTA would create a win-win situation.

In November 2001, at the fifth China-ASEAN Summit, China and ASEAN reached an agreement on creating a China-ASEAN FTA in 10 years.

In November 2002, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji and 10 member countries of ASEAN signed the Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between China and ASEAN and planned to complete the construction of the China-ASEAN FTA in 2010.

In November 2004, China and ASEAN signed an Agreement on Trade in Goods, which slashed tariffs on 7,000 kinds of products.

In January 2007, China and ASEAN signed an Agreement on Trade in Services, which opened their service markets to each other at a level higher than the one required by the World Trade Organization.

In August 2009, Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming signed the ASEAN-China FTA Investment Agreement, marking the completion of the main negotiations between the two sides.

On January 1, 2010, the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area started operating.