Agreement to tighten ASEAN, China economic ties
Economic ministers of ASEAN and China inked an investment agreement that is
expected to bring in trade and investment expansion among the two
sides.
Economic ministers of ten ASEAN member
countries and China on August 15 inked an investment agreement that is
expected to bring in trade and investment expansion among the two
sides.
The agreement is another step to closer economic ties between the Southeast Asian countries with China as it, together with already-signed China-ASEAN agreements of the trade in goods and services, completed the negotiation process of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA).
When fully realised by 2010, it would be a free trade area with a population of 1.9 billion people and the gross domestic product of 6,000 billion USD.
All the ministers of signing countries agreed to support foreign direct investment, promote and protect investment of parties to the agreement by giving non-discriminatory and fair treatment to investors, compensating investors in case of expropriation and providing investors-State dispute settlement.
“Investment facilitation and protection will result in increase in production, exports, and trade volume of both sides,” said Thai Minister of Commerce Porntiva Nakasai.
China is the fourth largest export market of ASEAN. So far this year, ASEAN exports to China have reached approximately 85.6 billion USD. ASEAN’s major exports include electrical machinery, machinery, petroleum, plastics and rubber.
China is the third largest source of import of ASEAN, with the bloc’s imports from China valued at nearly 107.0 billion USD. Major imports from China include electrical machinery, machinery, ship, petroleum, steel and steel products.
China is the 8 th largest investor in ASEAN, with accumulated investments as of 2008 valued at 6.1 billion USD. While ASEAN accumulated investments in China as of 2008 were valued at 5.6 billion USD.
For Vietnam, China is an important market with potential for development. According to Nguyen Duy Phu, Trade Counselor from the Vietnamese Embassy in China, in the first half of this year, two-way trade between Vietnam and China reached more than 8.5 billion USD. Vietnam’s exports to China hit over 2.1 billion USD.
Vietnam’s import surplus was 4.3 billion USD, down 32.8 percent compared to the same period last year./.
The agreement is another step to closer economic ties between the Southeast Asian countries with China as it, together with already-signed China-ASEAN agreements of the trade in goods and services, completed the negotiation process of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA).
When fully realised by 2010, it would be a free trade area with a population of 1.9 billion people and the gross domestic product of 6,000 billion USD.
All the ministers of signing countries agreed to support foreign direct investment, promote and protect investment of parties to the agreement by giving non-discriminatory and fair treatment to investors, compensating investors in case of expropriation and providing investors-State dispute settlement.
“Investment facilitation and protection will result in increase in production, exports, and trade volume of both sides,” said Thai Minister of Commerce Porntiva Nakasai.
China is the fourth largest export market of ASEAN. So far this year, ASEAN exports to China have reached approximately 85.6 billion USD. ASEAN’s major exports include electrical machinery, machinery, petroleum, plastics and rubber.
China is the third largest source of import of ASEAN, with the bloc’s imports from China valued at nearly 107.0 billion USD. Major imports from China include electrical machinery, machinery, ship, petroleum, steel and steel products.
China is the 8 th largest investor in ASEAN, with accumulated investments as of 2008 valued at 6.1 billion USD. While ASEAN accumulated investments in China as of 2008 were valued at 5.6 billion USD.
For Vietnam, China is an important market with potential for development. According to Nguyen Duy Phu, Trade Counselor from the Vietnamese Embassy in China, in the first half of this year, two-way trade between Vietnam and China reached more than 8.5 billion USD. Vietnam’s exports to China hit over 2.1 billion USD.
Vietnam’s import surplus was 4.3 billion USD, down 32.8 percent compared to the same period last year./.
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