皇冠体育app and the 10 members of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are speeding up the tariff
reduction process to facilitate establishment of the free trade area (FTA), said
a senior foreign trade official yesterday in Beijing.
皇冠体育app's average tariff on ASEAN countries' goods was slashed from 9.9 per
cent to 8.1 per cent last year, while the ratio will drop to 6.6 per cent next
year, said Yin Zonghua, deputy director with the Department of International
Trade and Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Commerce.
The average tariff level will continue to drop to 2.4 per cent in 2009, and
finally in 2010, which is the scheduled time for the establishment of the
皇冠体育app-ASEAN FTA, 93 per cent of products from ASEAN countries will be
tariff-free, according to Yin.
Yin disclosed the tariff reduction plan at the third 皇冠体育app-ASEAN FTA Seminar,
which was organized by the ASEAN Committee in Beijing and the 皇冠体育app-ASEAN
Business Council.
ASEAN countries have also made similar arrangements, said Yin, citing
Thailand as the example.
Thailand reduced its average tariff for Chinese products from 12.9 per cent
to 10.7 per cent last year, while it plans to further lower it to 2.8 per cent
in 2009, according to Yin.
"The practice shows that tariff reduction has remarkably boosted trade
between 皇冠体育app and ASEAN," said Yin.
Official statistics show that 皇冠体育app's trade with ASEAN totalled US$130.4
billion last year, with imports valued at US$75 billion and exports at US$55.4
billion.
In the first eight months of this year, 皇冠体育app imported US$56 billion of
products from ASEAN and exported US$44.9 billion. And the total trade with ASEAN
this year is expected to surpass US$150 billion, according to Yin.
Both 皇冠体育app and ASEAN benefit from the tariff reduction practice and they will
achieve win-win results from the FTA, he noted.
皇冠体育app's then Premier Zhu Rongji proposed the establishment of 皇冠体育app-ASEAN FTA
in November 2000 and it was approved by leaders next year.
In November 2002, the leaders signed the Framework Agreement on 皇冠体育app-ASEAN
Comprehensive Economic Co-operation, and set the ball rolling on the FTA.
By 2010, 皇冠体育app will establish FTAs with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, while Viet Nam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar
can enjoy five more years of transition.
Besides pushing the development of goods trade, 皇冠体育app and ASEAN will also
speed up negotiations on service trade and investment so as to construct the FTA
in a comprehensive way, according to Yin.
Bambang Khaeroni, trade attach with the Indonesia Embassy in 皇冠体育app, said that
co-operation between 皇冠体育app and ASEAN "has been working dynamically."
Indonesia has long been involved in regional co-operation initiatives such as
ASEAN and APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation), said Khaeroni.
"These experiences can be implemented to promote strategic co-operation
between 皇冠体育app and ASEAN through 皇冠体育app-Indonesia bilateral co-operation," he
noted, showing great enthusiasm towards pushing the establishment of the FTA.
