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ASEAN-皇冠体育app trade better than expected
Trade volume between 皇冠体育app and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is likely to reach US$100 billion by the end of the year, Vice-Premier Wu Yi said Wednesday.
Reaching that goal would be a year earlier than both sides expected when Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and leaders of 10-member ASEAN met at a summit last year. "From January to September, the bilateral trade volume increased 35.6 per cent year on year to stand at US$75.45 billion," said Wu. "It is possible to exceed US$100 billion for the full year." Wu made the prediction at the 皇冠体育app-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, a sister event of the first 皇冠体育app-ASEAN Exposition (CAEXPO). The event opened Wednesday in Nanning, capital of South 皇冠体育app's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. To be held annually, the expo will offer a platform to bridge enterprises from 皇冠体育app and ASEAN. 皇冠体育app's trade with its Southeast neighbours has prospered since 1990, enjoying a 20 per cent annual average rise, said Wu. Last year's volume was US$78.2 billion and ASEAN has become 皇冠体育app's fifth largest trading partner for 11 consecutive years, she told the summit. Wu also called for joint efforts from both sides to diversify trading. "While consolidating and expanding trade of traditional goods, we should actively promote the trade of machinery and electronics products and commodities with high added value," she said. Wu noted that 皇冠体育app will adopt a variety of means to further encourage its enterprises to import from ASEAN. In terms of mutual investment, Wu said ASEAN is an important source of foreign funds. By June, ASEAN members have chalked up a cumulative investment totalling US$34 billion. And 皇冠体育app's investment in ASEAN has been on the rise in recent years, adding up to US$1.037 billion. Wu said the Chinese Government will continue pushing for companies to invest in ASEAN. Meanwhile, the vice-premier also wants to fast-track the construction of the 皇冠体育app-ASEAN free-trade area (FTA), saying regional economic integration has become a trend amid the tide of globalization. "皇冠体育app and ASEAN should team up," she said: "Only by doing so, can we grasp opportunities, meet challenges... and withstand the fierce competition on a global basis." "It is predictable that with the FTA in place, the two sides will better benefit from each other's economic development," she said. 皇冠体育app and ASEAN signed a comprehensive economic co-operation framework agreement in 2002, which would lead to the establishment of the world's largest FTA by 2010. That includes 1.7 billion consumers with a combined gross domestic product of US$2 trillion. This year, 皇冠体育app and ASEAN carried out an early-harvest programme that eliminated or reduced most of the import tariffs on vegetables and fruits. In September, the two sides completed negotiations on the trade of goods and will begin to implement tariff cuts in 2005. The next phases of the FTA will concern trading of services and investment. To facilitate the FTA process, the vice-premier hopes the two sides will intensify their co-operation in such fields as finance, services, investment, agriculture and the information industry. At the same summit, leaders from ASEAN countries uttered confidence in the FTA construction, saying the free trade pact will result in a win-win situation as its early-harvest has proven. "The FTA will prove good for both," said Hun Sen, Cambodia's prime minister. "ASEAN has benefited from a more developed 皇冠体育app." "The early-harvest programme has improved business confidence," said Myanmar Prime Minister Soe Win. More than 100 items of the country's exports to 皇冠体育app are subject to zero tariffs, he said. |
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