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China-ASEAN cooperation to be accelerated amid challenges on world economy

Published: 21/10/2008 05:00

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The 5th China-ASEAN Expo and 5th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit opened here Wednesday, with participants voicing views and proposing measures to further cooperation in this region and better cope with the financial crisis in the Western world.

The 5th China-ASEAN Expo is held in Nanning, capital of southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Oct. 22, 2008. The four-day China-ASEAN Expo was opened here Wednesday to further cooperation in the region and will propose measures to deal with the financial crisis in the world.(Xinhua Photo/Chen Shugen)

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan attended the opening ceremonies of the Expo and the Summit in Nanning, capital city of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south China, together with leaders, high-ranking officials and business people from the 10 ASEAN countries.

Surin Pitsuwan, secretary-general of the ASEAN, said at the Expo that China and these countries are building the biggest free trade zone in the world that accommodates nearly 1.9 billion people, and that their collaboration will effectively meet the challenges faced by the world.

The Expo, namely “10+1″, was proposed by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao five years ago as a platform for elites in this region to exchange views on accelerating economic development and create a better trade environment. The 10 ASEAN countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam with a total area of 4.5 million square kilometers, whose economies were seriously hurt by the financial crisis in 1997.

As the largest developing country in the world, China should step up cooperation with the ASEAN countries in light of the uncertainties of the world economy, said Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming at the Expo.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the 5th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (CABIS), Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said the rampant economic crisis in the developed countries reminded him of the Great Depression in 1930.

“Although the crisis would not have a major impact on ASEAN, it truly affects the manufacturing and export industries. Millions of people will be affected. A diversified export frame work will help us get through the crisis,” he said.

“We need more exports to China and India, the two economic engines for our growth in the future,” the Cambodian prime minister said.

Wang Qishan said at the business summit that in face of unprecedented challenges to the world economy, it is of special importance to accelerate China-ASEAN cooperation.

“The two sides need to further deepen cooperation in trade in goods and services, continue to strengthen communication and consultation on the Investment Agreement of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA), work to conclude negotiations and sign the agreement at an early date and ensure that China-ASEAN FTA will be established as scheduled,” Wang added.

The China-ASEAN FTA is the first free trade area agreement signed by China. In November 2004, both sides concluded the FTA agreement on trade in goods and services, which came into effect in July 2005, reducing tariff rates on 7,000 commodities. In January 2007, the FTA agreement on trade in services was also signed.

The two sides vowed to complete the China-ASEAN FTA before 2010.

Wang also called on both sides to step up sub-regional cooperation. “As an active supporter of ASEAN economic integration, China is working with countries concerned to jointly promote the transition of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) from a transport corridor to an economic corridor and explore ways to carry out economic cooperation in the Pan-Beibu Bay,” he said.

The GMS is composed of countries sharing the Mekong River, including Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

China’s 11th five-year program for Western Development has placed the Beibu Bay economic zone as one of the three economic development zones in the west which enjoy priority in economic development.

Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein said at the summit, “Our goal is to set up an ASEAN economic community in 2015 and we’re accelerating the construction of the China-ASEAN FTA.”

China was the fourth largest investor in Myanmar. Bilateral trade volume stood at 2.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2007, accounting for 24.1 percent of the total trade volume of Myanmar. “I hope Chinese entrepreneurs could grasp more business opportunities,” Thein Sein added.

China and ASEAN countries must enhance political and economic ties, help each other and work together to cope with the might-coming difficulties caused by the global financial crisis, said Prospero C. Nograles, speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines.

The robust growth of China’s economy has become a leading force to promote the region’s economic growth, Laos Vice President Boungnang Volachit said, which he believed would continue to help boost the economic development of the ASEAN countries.

Wang Qishan also said is his speech that both sides should give a better play to the role of the existing communication and cooperation mechanisms, continue to do a good job in hosting the China-ASEAN Expo and the CABIS and promote exchanges and dialogue at various levels and in various fields.

“We should encourage intermediary agencies to provide services for cooperation between companies from the two sides, in particular those facilitating more effective cooperation between small and medium-sized companies,” Wang said.

Wang added that China would step up coordination and cooperation with ASEAN countries in finance, energy, environmental protection, cooking security and other fields with a responsible attitude to jointly promote the steady and sound economic and financial growth of the region.

Likely, Supachai Panitchpakdi, secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, described the private sector as an important “engine” of boosting the economic growth in this region.

Figures revealed that trade volume between China and ASEAN increased from 105.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2004 to 202.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2007, attaining the set trade target of 200 billion U.S. dollars three years ahead of schedule.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said the Sino-Vietnam bilateral trade was growing at an average rate of 25 percent annually in recent years to exceed 15 billion U.S. dollars in 2007.

The 5th China-ASEAN Expo is scheduled to be held from Oct. 22 to 25 in Nanning and some guests will attend the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit in Beijing this weekend.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

Update from: http://english.vietnamnet.vn//international/2008/10/809740/

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