A woman walks past a line of trucks waiting to be exported into Vietnam at a China-ASEAN free trade zone logistics center in Guangxi Province, China,

China wants to boost cooperation with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to develop trade and increase investment, said Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming.

They signed an agreement Saturday in Bangkok that may boost two-way investment as much as 60 percent during the next two years, Thailand’s Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai told reporters. The agreement gives the signatories “most-favored nation” status for investments, according to a statement by China’s Commerce Ministry on its website. Chen spoke before the signing.

“This is a recognition that regional countries will represent an increasing share of the global economy,” said David Cohen, an economist at Action

Economics in Singapore. “It makes sense that nations explore investment opportunities and support expansion in investment flows.”

China said in April it plans to create a US$10 billion investment fund and offer $15 billion in credit to Southeast Asian countries, extending its influence as the region attempts to weather the global financial crisis.

The agreement sends an “important signal” that China and ASEAN are willing to work together to promote free trade and investment and oppose protectionism, the statement by China’s Commerce Ministry said.

China investments

Trade between China and the regional grouping fell 24 percent to $88 billion in the first half of the year, Chen said.

China is the eighth-largest investor in ASEAN, with accumulated investments of $6.1 billion as of 2008, the regional grouping said in a statement Saturday. ASEAN has invested a total of about $5.6 billion in China as of last year, the statement added.

China companies may seek investments in the steel and agriculture industries within Southeast Asia, while ASEAN nations may invest in Chinese financial and retail companies, Chaiya Yimvilai, a spokesman for the ASEAN meeting, said Saturday.

ASEAN has said it wants the region to become a European Union-style economic community, without a common currency, by 2015. Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam make up the regional organization.

ASEAN on Friday signed a free trade agreement with India, pledging to reduce tariffs for about 80 percent of goods between 2013 and 2016. A similar agreement with China is scheduled to take effect next year.

Source: Bloomberg