China-ASEAN Expo prepares for Asia’s Largest Free Trade Area

20th October 2009
Source: Government of China

A high profile exposition co-hosted by China and ten southeast Asian countries opened in Nanning on Tuesday to make final preparations for Asia’s largest free trade area (FTA) amid the lingering global economic downturn.

The China-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Expo is a platform to promote exchanges and cooperation in trade and investments between China and ASEAN countries.
This is the sixth of the annual event. Main exhibition halls are decorated with glittering signs and patterns of the new FTA, which will be realized by January 1, 2010.

The FTA will cover a population of 1.9 billion in this region and create a combined GDP of nearly 6 trillion US dollars, only next to the North American FTA and European FTA.

Representing the first free trade area agreement signed by China and other countries, the CAFTA would provide zero tariff on 90 percent of products traded between China and ASEAN and other favorable policies on trade and investment.

Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang declared the opening of the Expo in Nanning, capital city of south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

State leaders, high ranking officials and businessmen from the ten ASEAN countries and China attended the opening ceremony. They all agreed that the Expo has been playing a vital role in advancing the establishment of the CAFTA.

The ten 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.
In a time of rising global trade barriers, the Expo this year is seen by observers as an important opportunity to enhance communication and consultation on the CAFTA, and strengthen the position of China and ASEAN countries on the world economic stage.

“China and ASEAN share strong historical trading ties, and strengthening trade and economic cooperation with China is important for ASEAN,” said Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary General of ASEAN, at the ceremony.

“China grows, ASEAN grows,” he said.

This year the Expo would play a more important role as China and ASEAN will soon witness the due FTA establishment next year, he said.

The Expo this year is of special significance, as China and ASEAN will soon witness the launch of the FTA, and the Expo would thus further enhance the ASEAN-China strategic partnership, said Lao Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh.

Laos acts as the Country of Honor at the Expo this year.

China’s Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said the expo served as a platform to make enterprises and people from both sides benefit from the facilitation of trade and investment.
“The China-ASEAN partnership will reach a higher level after CAFTA is fully realized,” Chen said.

Ma Biao, chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said the Expo was the accelerator for the CAFTA construction, adding that Guangxi, which is adjacent to Vietnam, is willing to make greater contributions to the China-ASEAN cooperation through building Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone and promoting the Pan Beibu Gulf economic cooperation.

The Expo, namely “10+1″, was initiated by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the 7th China-ASEAN summit in 2003, and has been held for six consecutive years in the permanent venue of Nanning.