People buy Vietnamese specialties at Wanzhong International Wholesale Market in Dongxing, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Dec. 27, 2019. (Xinhua/Yang Chi)
BEIJING, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's trade with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) amounted to 416.55 billion U.S. dollars in the first eight months, showing a year on year increase of 3.8 percent and accounting for 14.6 percent of the country's total foreign trade, Li Chenggang, Assistant Minister of Commerce told a press briefing on Sunday.
Since the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) in 2010, trade and investment liberalization and facilitation have been greatly promoted. A golden era has come for the economic and trade cooperation between China and the ASEAN, Li noted.
Two sides have become each other's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade up from 292.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2010 to 641.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2019.
In the next stage, the two sides will further join hands in the response to the COVID-19, ensure the smooth supply of anti-pandemic materials, and strengthen cooperation in the research, development and production of vaccines, according to Li.
Efforts will be made to further align the Belt and Road Initiative with the development strategies of ASEAN countries, expand the scope of cooperation to the fields of digital trade and cross-border e-commerce, and provide stronger support for small and medium-sized enterprises.
China will work with the ASEAN members to advance the construction of the CAFTA and promote the signing of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement within this year as planned. (Edited by Su Dan with Xinhua Silk Road, sudan@xinhua.org)
A single purchase
