The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and China inked a trade and economic cooperation agreement on Thursday, May 17.

The agreement is non-preferential by nature and does not imply cancellation of duties or automatic reduction of non-tariff barriers, Kazakhstan’s Minister of National Economy Timur Suleimenov said earlier.

At the same time, the agreement will make it possible to improve conditions for import of goods to the Chinese market by means of norms for the simplification of trade procedures, increase the transparency level and improve the level of interaction across all spheres of trade cooperation.

Negotiations between the EAEU and China were held on the basis of the decision of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council of May 8, 2015.

The EAEU and Iran signed an agreement on a free trade zone after “lengthy and complicated negotiations”, Deputy Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan said Thursday.

A trade bloc established in 2015, the EAEU was based on the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus. It was later joined by Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. In 2016, Vietnam officially became the first non-regional country to join the bloc. The union is designed to ensure the free movement of goods, services, capital and workers between member countries.