Aug. 17 – China signed an investment agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) last Saturday during the 41st ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand.
The agreement completes the negotiation process of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area to be implemented in January next year, reports Xinhua. “The China-ASEAN FTA will be an advanced FTA that covers an extensive area of 13,000,000 square kilometers with a population of 1.9 billion,” Commerce Minister Chen Deming told Xinhua.
The agreement aims to facilitate a transparent investment mechanism for Chinese and ASEAN investors in terms of fair treatment, dispute settlement and reciprocal investment, among other things included in the 27 clause agreement. When it is implement it will further expand trade and investment between the ASEAN group and China.
China and ASEAN trade is an important part of regional business with China being the fourth largest export market of the ASEAN group. From this year, ASEAN exports to China have reached an estimated US$85.6 billion.
Conversely, China is ASEAN’s third largest source of imports amounting to almost US$107.0 billion. In 2008, China was ranked the eighth largest investor in the ASEAN with investments worth US$6.1 billion while ASEAN invested US$5.6 billion in China during the same period.
