Ministry says China aims to bolster trade ties with ASEAN

China is willing to strengthen trade, investment and economic cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as the regional bloc becomes an increasingly important trading partner, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

Even though China witnessed dropping trade volumes with other major trade partners, such as the European Union and the United States, since the start of the novel coronavirus outbreak, the country's trade with ASEAN surged 4.2 percent year-on-year to 1.7 trillion yuan ($240 billion) in the first five months of this year, with the bloc replacing the EU as China's largest trading partner this year, Customs data showed.

The growth of China-ASEAN trade fully reflects the potential and resilience of bilateral trade development, said Gao Feng, the ministry's spokesman, adding that China is eager to maintain the stability, security and development of its industrial and supply chains with ASEAN by making full use of related regional free trade arrangements and supporting companies in expanding trade and investment activities.

Gao said China and the ASEAN countries have strong complementary economies. Both sides have showed their respective advantages and deepened economic cooperation in various fields.

"The establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area has also pushed the two sides to continuously open each other's markets, promote trade and investment liberalization and ensure the smoothness of global industrial and supply chains," he said.

China is ASEAN's main economic partner, especially at a time when developed countries are suffering from a notable downturn, and the nation remains a strong market for ASEAN countries, said Li Yong, vice-chairman of the expert committee of the Beijing-based China Association of International Trade.

As China undergoes a recovery, its rising demand could further stimulate its imports of ASEAN member economies' commodities and manufactured goods, including integrated circuits, agricultural products, natural rubber, iron ore, coal and copper in the second half of this year, said Wei Xiaoquan, a researcher specializing in regional economic development at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

Encouraged by the short logistics distance, complementary industrial structure and 15 Asia-Pacific countries' joint efforts to conclude the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership by the end of this year, he noted that the signing of the world's largest trade agreement will not only facilitate China and ASEAN to further develop trade ties, but also generate momentum in investment, tourism, public emergency response and regional connectivity.

Vice-Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen said in a statement on Wednesday that the parties involved have finished about 80 percent of the legal procedures and are expected to clear up all the remaining issues on the RCEP by the end of June.

"I believe the RCEP will go a long way toward regional economic recovery following the pandemic," Wang said. "It will help harmonize trade rules in this region and will enhance supply chains and value chains."

He said the deal will also promote regional economic integration and promote trade by eliminating over 90 percent of the tariffs on goods being traded in the region. Further, the RCEP will not only give a strong boost to an open global economy, but also significantly contribute to the global trading system.