A new free trade area to rival both the European Union and the North American Free Trade Area comes into operation on January 1st. It will consist of China and six founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Brunei, the largest trading area in terms of population in the world. The agreement will see the elimination of tariffs on 90% of traded goods.




come into operation
to start working; to start having an effect 开始工作;开始生效

The new rules come into operation from next week.
新规定从下周起实施.

consist of something
to be formed from the things or people mentioned 由...组成(或构成)

The committee consists of ten members.
委员会由十人组成.

Their diet consisted largely of vegetables.
他们的日常饮食以蔬菜为主.

Most of the fieldwork consisted of making tape recordings.
现场工作多半为进行磁带录音.

in terms of something; in...terms
used to show what aspect of a subject you are talking about or how you are thinking about it 谈及;就...而言;在...方面

The job is great in terms of salary, but it has its disadvantages.
就薪金而言,这个工作倒是挺不错的,但也有一些不利之处.

The decision was disastrous in political terms.
从政治上来看,这个决定是灾难性的.