China to give ASEAN service sector access

China signed an agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Sunday, promising to open up key service sectors, the Financial Times reported. The agreement, which comes into effect in July, was sealed during a meeting between Premier Wen Jiabao and 10 ASEAN leaders at the group's annual summit in the Philippines city of Cebu. It is another step towards the creation of what could be the world's biggest free-trade zone, following a China-ASEAN deal 18 months ago to lower tariffs on more than 7,000 products. Under this latest agreement, Southeast Asian countries should have better access to China's banking, IT, real estate, health, engineering, transport and construction sectors. This may help the countries reduce their huge trade deficits with China.