2023-09-08 23:52:40
Peking, China (ots/PRNewswire) – Under the theme “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth,” the 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit concluded on Friday in Jakarta, Indonesia with a number of positive outcomes.
Deepening cooperation between ASEAN and China would benefit people on both sides, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn said on Thursday.
Regional economic integration
In his speech at the 26th China-ASEAN Summit on Wednesday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang called on China and ASEAN countries to improve connectivity, deepen industrial and supply chain cooperation, conclude negotiations on the ASEAN China Free Trade Agreement (ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement, ACFTA) 3.0 to be achieved by 2024 and to steadily advance regional economic integration.
During the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit, Li pointed out that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into full force in June this year, opening up new opportunities for the integration of the regional economy.
“We must continue to realize the potential of the agreement, promote the free flow of factors and expand and improve our trade and investment. We must advance our comprehensive, mutually beneficial and high-quality economic partnership and move towards an integrated regional market that is more open and dynamic,” he said.
China has proposed speeding up negotiations on an update to the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0 and aims to complete negotiations in 2024, according to a list of China’s cooperation initiatives for ASEAN summit meetings.
Version 3.0 of the free trade agreement between China and ASEAN member states will bring tangible benefits to local people, said Shi Zhongjun, secretary-general of the ASEAN-China Center, adding that the unilateral, protectionist policies of some countries outside the region have certain implications cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, including between China and ASEAN.
Cooperation on the New Silk Road
A joint statement on mutually beneficial cooperation between the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the ASEAN Outlook for the Indo-Pacific was issued during the 26th China-ASEAN Summit.
China welcomes the active participation of ASEAN countries in the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, Li said on Wednesday.
As part of the BRI cooperation, China and ASEAN member states have strengthened their cooperation in the areas of infrastructure and regional cooperation.
The China-Laos Railway has transported a total of 20.09 million passengers as of April 16, with the intra-China section handling 17.09 million passengers and the non-China section handling three million passengers since it began operations in December 2021, the data said from China Railway.
The Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone, a flagship project of the BRI in Cambodia, has become the largest industrial zone in the Southeast Asian country and is currently home to up to 175 factories.
Results of a fruitful collaboration
A series of final documents were adopted during the China-ASEAN Summit, including a joint statement on deepening China-ASEAN agricultural cooperation, an action plan on China-ASEAN green agricultural development (2023-2027), an initiative to enhance bilateral cooperation in the field of electronic commerce and an initiative to jointly implement a program to promote science and technology in China and ASEAN member states.
Data from China’s Ministry of Commerce shows that the trade volume between China and ASEAN member states reached $975.3 billion in 2022, up 11.2 percent year-on-year and up 120 percent year-on-year 2013 corresponds.
By the end of July, cumulative investment in both directions exceeded $380 billion, with China having established more than 6,500 companies with direct investments in ASEAN member states.
In the past decade, ASEAN also became China’s top trading partner in 2020, overtaking the European Union and the United States.
“Looking forward, I think ASEAN-China bilateral trade will increase three-fold in the next 20 years, and investment will increase accordingly,” said Djauhari Oratmangun, Indonesian ambassador to China.
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