The 19th China ASEAN Expo (hereinafter referred to as the East China Expo) will open on the 16th. China and ten ASEAN countries will gather in Nanning, Guangxi, to plan the future of bilateral cooperation in the world's unprecedented changes in a century. What has changed in China ASEAN cooperation in the past decade? At the time when the East China International Fair is about to open, this issue has attracted great attention from the outside world.
Join hands with the construction of "the Belt and Road" to deeply influence the world
Nine years ago, Chinese leaders in Kazakhstan and Indonesia successively put forward the major initiatives of the "Silk Road Economic Belt" and the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road". Since then, China has opened in-depth cooperation with ASEAN in this field.
When it comes to the construction of "the Belt and Road", the high-speed railway from Kunming, China to Vientiane, the capital of Laos, is of great significance. In December 2021, the 1035 km long China Laos railway was opened to traffic.
"The opening of the China Laos railway will not only solve the problem of Laos being a 'land locked country', but also stimulate the connection between Thailand and China Laos railway. Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and other countries are highly motivated to participate in China Laos railway transportation." Bai Ming, deputy director of the International Market Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Commerce, said.
"once the China Laos railway is connected with the China Thailand railway, it will form a transport artery running through China ASEAN, accelerate the formation of the China Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor, and profoundly change the economy of Southeast Asia." Lei Xiaohua, deputy director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies of the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with reporters on the 15th.
Over the past decade, China and ASEAN countries have worked together to continuously promote infrastructure connectivity. In addition to the China Laos railway, important progress has been made in the construction of the ya'an-wan high-speed railway. The construction of new international land and sea trade channels has formed a complete ring line for the "belt" and "road". The goods of ASEAN countries can reach Europe directly from the north along the new land and sea trade channel.
The upgrading of free trade zone and the effectiveness of RCEP promote the world economy
In the past ten years, despite the ups and downs along the way, China ASEAN cooperation has continued to move forward steadily.
Since the launch of the China ASEAN Free Trade Area, it has promoted the rapid development of bilateral economy and trade. With the promotion of cooperation, China and ASEAN are willing to further enrich, improve and supplement the original agreement. In November 2015, the two sides signed the Protocol on Upgrading the China ASEAN Free Trade Area. "Despite some twists and turns, on October 22, 2019, the upgraded Protocol of the China ASEAN Free Trade Area came into full force for all members of the agreement." Xie Zhujun, deputy director of the Southeast Asia Institute of the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences, said.
"The construction of the China ASEAN Free Trade Area has brought tangible benefits to the people of both sides. A large number of ASEAN fruits have entered the Chinese market, and many ASEAN foods have appeared on the Chinese people's tables. ASEAN countries have also enjoyed more high-quality and inexpensive products from China. With the promotion of the Free Trade Area, China's industrial chain has extended to ASEAN countries, bringing more development and employment opportunities." Bai Ming said.
Another historical event in China ASEAN cooperation is the entry into force and implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP). The agreement was launched by ASEAN in 2012 and has been negotiated for 8 years.
"After the RCEP came into effect, it has injected new vitality into the world economic growth. In terms of the highlights of the world economic growth, no other regional cooperation has brought more expectations to the world economy than it, because it is, after all, the world's largest free trade zone consisting of 30% of the global population, 30% of the global trade scale and 30% of the global GDP." Xu Ningning, Executive Chairman of China ASEAN Business Council, Chief Business Expert of China ASEAN and Chairman of RCEP Industrial Cooperation Committee, said.
ASEAN overtook EU to become China's largest trading partner
The trade between China and ASEAN ushered in a landmark moment in 2020. In that year, ASEAN surpassed the European Union to become China's largest trade partner in goods, which is another breakthrough after ASEAN surpassed the United States to become China's second largest trade partner in 2019. China has also maintained its position as the largest trading partner of ASEAN for many consecutive years, which shows that China ASEAN economic and trade relations are strong and resilient.
"Over the past decade, the institutional cooperation between China and ASEAN has reached a historical high. This institutional cooperation includes the upgraded version of the China ASEAN bilateral free trade agreement and the bilateral systematic cooperation covering political, economic, cultural and other fields under the framework of the 'the Belt and Road'. This systematic cooperation is the biggest motivation for ASEAN to become China's largest trading partner." Zhang Jianping, director of the Research Center for Regional Economic Cooperation of the Chinese Academy of Commerce, said.
Zhang Jianping believes that thanks to the double advantages of the upgraded China ASEAN Free Trade Agreement and RCEP, China and ASEAN, as two emerging large developing markets, have the most abundant power in terms of trade creation, investment growth and employment growth, and will become the "locomotive" of the Asia Pacific and global economy. "The improvement of the degree of economic integration will not only bring about the integrated development of trade and investment, but also lead to the integration of industries and finance."
