China-ASEAN ties enter new stage: China Daily editorial

A golden opportunity for China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to synergize their development outlooks and deepen cooperation, that is what the 16th China-ASEAN Expo provides.

No wonder Vice-Premier Han Zheng sounded upbeat while delivering a speech at the expo, which opened in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Saturday. He emphasized that relations between China and ASEAN member states have entered a new stage of all-round development.

Indeed, as regional partners that have been steadily strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation, China and ASEAN have seen their trade and economic partnership prosper at an increasing pace over the years. They will reap even more mutual benefits by dovetailing the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025.

Since China's initiative and ASEAN's master plan are complementary in nature in many areas including connectivity, commodity flow and trade facilitation, the two sides reached a consensus in July for upgrading cooperation under the framework of the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030. This new blueprint will not only contribute to the common development of China and ASEAN members but also boost overall development in the Asia-Pacific region.

China has been the largest trading partner of ASEAN for 10 consecutive years, with two-way trade increasing 10-fold in 16 years to $587.8 billion in 2018. Trade with ASEAN member states has become increasingly important for China, especially because ASEAN overtook the United States to become China's second-largest trading partner in the first half of this year.

Moreover, China has pledged to collaborate with ASEAN in building economic and trade cooperation zones and the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor, as well as to make greater efforts to improve connectivity by building infrastructure facilities, and deepen cooperation in such spheres as e-commerce, digital trade and 5G technology.

In this regard, the China-ASEAN Expo, by consolidating the relations between the two sides, will play a vital role. For example, the expo could inject new vitality into the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and help deepen cooperation between the two sides in various fields.

With the global economy facing challenges due to rising trade protectionism and unilateralism, the commitment China and ASEAN have made to further deepen cooperation in trade and other fields will have a far-reaching impact on the region and beyond.

And we have every reason to believe the China-ASEAN Expo will continue to serve as an important platform promoting free trade, and China-ASEAN cooperation will continue to yield more fruitful results.