The head of the World Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce interprets the Protocol to Upgrade the China Georgia Free Trade Agreement
On April 22nd, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and Georgian Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Kvlivishvili signed the China Georgia Free Trade Agreement Upgrade Protocol (hereinafter referred to as the Protocol) in Beijing on behalf of China and Georgia respectively. The person in charge of the World Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce interpreted the relevant situation of the protocol.
1、 The Importance of Signing the Protocol
The China Georgia Free Trade Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement) is the first free trade agreement launched and reached by China after the "the Belt and Road" initiative was put forward, and also the first free trade agreement signed between China and countries in Eurasia, laying a solid institutional foundation and injecting strong impetus into bilateral economic and trade cooperation. According to the latest statistics from China, the bilateral trade volume between China and Georgia will reach 2.699 billion US dollars in 2025, an increase of about 175.41% compared to before the agreement came into effect in 2017. High quality agricultural and food products such as Georgian wine, coffee, and mineral water will accelerate their entry into the Chinese market, and Chinese electronic products, digital services, etc. will be widely popular among Georgian consumers.
The upgrade of the agreement is a manifestation of the traditional friendship and political mutual trust between China and Georgia, as well as a pragmatic action by the two countries to practice true multilateralism and oppose protectionism. The agreement is a practical achievement in implementing the important consensus of the leaders of the two countries on deepening the strategic partnership between China and Georgia. It is also an important measure to implement the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on expanding high-level opening up to the outside world. It will inject new momentum and expand new space for China Georgia cooperation in the next step, help expand two-way trade and investment, promote cooperation between enterprises of the two countries, and create a more transparent and convenient business environment. For China, enterprise investment in grid is safer and more convenient, and the cooperation space in digital economy, new energy, infrastructure and other fields is fully opened up. For Georgia, the transportation of high-quality agricultural products to China is smoother and more cost-effective, which is expected to accelerate exports to China.
2、 Background information related to the protocol
China and Georgia launched free trade negotiations in December 2015, signed an agreement in May 2017, and the agreement officially came into effect in January 2018. After solid research and detailed consultations, the two sides launched negotiations to upgrade the agreement in July 2025. After two rounds of negotiations, the agreement expanded and improved its content in areas such as sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), technical barriers to trade (TBT), investment, and e-commerce. In November 2025, under the joint witness of Premier Li Qiang and Georgian Prime Minister Kobahidze, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and Georgian Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Keflevishvili signed a memorandum of understanding in Shanghai on ending negotiations to upgrade the agreement, and unanimously agreed to sign the agreement as soon as possible.
3、 Main content of the protocol
On the basis of the original agreement, this upgrade mainly includes updating two chapters, SPS and TBT, and adding two chapters, investment and e-commerce.
（1） SPS chapter. The upgraded SPS chapter puts forward higher requirements for the transparency of relevant laws and regulations between the two countries, and sets up a consultation mechanism, which is conducive to timely communication between the two sides, efficient resolution of technical issues in bilateral agricultural and food product trade, and effective reduction of unnecessary inspection and quarantine costs. One is to add technical consultation and SPS subcommittee clauses, clarify the technical consultation process, SPS subcommittee composition and functions, etc; The second is to further refine the terms and rules of equivalence, transparency, and technical cooperation, clarifying the requirements for negotiating equivalence and providing information, the obligation to report violations in transparency, and the scope of information exchange in technical cooperation; The third is to clarify the specific department of the contact point and supplement the obligation to inform of changes in contact point information.
（2） TBT chapter. The upgraded TBT chapter retains the original rules and framework of the agreement, and supplements and improves some provisions to enhance practicality, which helps to improve the coordination and mutual recognition of standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures between both parties, reduce unnecessary technical trade barriers, and effectively improve the level of trade facilitation. One is to add compliance obligations for local governments; The second is to add mutual recognition mechanisms such as international multilateral arrangements and arrangements between qualified assessment agencies, clarifying that both parties can negotiate department level mutual recognition agreements; The third is to supplement the obligation to provide English abstracts of relevant technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures under specific circumstances; Fourthly, the technical consultation clarifies the time limit requirement for starting within 60 days; The fifth is to increase the encouragement of bilateral cooperation between standardization institutions.
（3） Investment chapter. The investment chapter is a newly added chapter, including nine clauses on scope, investment promotion, and general principles of approval procedures. By enhancing the transparency of investment approval and related information, standardizing relevant processes, reducing implicit barriers and uncertainties, providing a stable, fair, and predictable institutional environment for both investors, it further promotes and facilitates bilateral direct investment. One is to clarify that contracting parties can encourage each other to invest and increase information sharing based on foreign investment policies; Secondly, it is required to publicly disclose information related to investment regulations, international agreements, and approval authorizations; Thirdly, it is stipulated that the investment approval procedures should be objective and transparent; The fourth is to reaffirm the effectiveness of the 1993 China Georgia bilateral investment agreement.
（4） E-commerce chapter. The e-commerce chapter is a newly added chapter, including 17 clauses such as definitions, general terms, customs duties, and domestic electronic transaction framework. It comprehensively constructs an e-commerce rule system, effectively improves the convenience level of cross-border e-commerce, regulates data flow and electronic transaction order, and provides stable institutional guarantees for bilateral e-commerce cooperation. One is to define the scope of application of relevant definitions and rules; Secondly, both parties will temporarily exempt electronic transmission from tariffs, refer to international rules to construct a legal framework for e-commerce, recognize the legal effectiveness of electronic signatures, and encourage interoperability of electronic authentication; Thirdly, strengthen online consumer protection and personal data protection, and regulate non invited commercial electronic information; Fourthly, clarify the requirements for electronic payment supervision, standards, etc; Fifth, both sides should strengthen exchanges and cooperation in areas such as financial technology industry.
4、 Implementation of the Protocol
After the signing of the protocol, both parties will follow their respective domestic approval procedures to promote the early entry into force and implementation of the protocol. We will promptly access the China Free Trade Zone service network（ http://fta.mofcom.gov.cn ）Publish the signed text of the protocol for public inquiry and reference.