China and Ecuador reach preliminary free trade agreement

China and Ecuador have reached preliminary consensus at a technical level in their free trade agreement talks after more than 10 months of intensive negotiations, said China's Ministry of Commerce.

The two sides are stepping up to complete their domestic procedures in an effort to announce the conclusion of the negotiations as soon as possible, said Shu Jueting, a spokeswoman for the ministry.

The bilateral FTA will play an important role in promoting the sustained, stable and diversified trade and investment development between the two countries and pushing their economic and trade cooperation to achieve greater development, Shu said at a weekly news briefing in Beijing.