Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told counterparts in Kuala Lumpur on 10 July that negotiations on upgrading the China–ASEAN Free Trade Agreement have been “fully completed,” with both sides aiming to sign the accord before the end of the year. The announcement, delivered during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, underscored the bloc’s efforts to deepen economic links with Beijing at a time of heightened global trade tensions and newly imposed U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. ASEAN ministers described China as one of their most substantive partners and said the pact would strengthen regional stability and growth. On the sidelines, Wang held his first bilateral talks with Japan’s new foreign minister, Takeshi Iwaya. The two agreed to advance what they called a “mutually beneficial strategic relationship,” but Iwaya pressed Beijing to relax its restrictions on rare-earth exports that are critical for Japanese industry and raised concerns over China’s recent military activity near Japan. Japan’s Foreign Ministry separately protested two incidents on 9–10 July in which Chinese military aircraft flew unusually close to Air Self-Defense Force planes, one of which was reported by Kyodo News shortly before the ministers met. Vice-Minister Masataka Funakoshi conveyed Tokyo’s “serious concerns” to China’s ambassador.