Ministry of Commerce: Encourage enterprises to establish economic and trade cooperation zones with ASEAN

Vice Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng said in Beijing on April 7 that after the completion of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, China has continuously strengthened economic and trade cooperation with ASEAN. China supports enterprises to establish economic and trade cooperation zones with ASEAN countries.

At the preparatory work meeting for the 7th China-ASEAN Expo held on the 7th, Gao Hucheng said that the current Expo will highlight key points and raise China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation to a new level. First, implement the "Trade Agreement" of the Free Trade Zone and expand the scale of trade. While consolidating traditional commodity trade, we will further expand the import and export of high value-added products such as mechanical and electrical products and high-tech products.

The second is to implement the "Investment Agreement" of the Free Trade Zone and strengthen mutual investment. Continue to encourage qualified and powerful enterprises to “go out” to ASEAN countries for investment cooperation, and support Chinese enterprises to establish economic and trade cooperation zones with perfect infrastructure, complete industrial chain, high degree of association, and strong driving and radiation capabilities.

The third is to expand the scope of cooperation and continuously improve the level of mutually beneficial economic and technological cooperation. Encourage enterprises of both sides to strengthen cooperation in the fields of agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure construction, resource development and processing, and form a comprehensive, multi-level and wide-ranging mutually beneficial economic cooperation pattern.

On January 1 this year, the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area was completed as scheduled, and its promotion effect on economy and trade is increasingly apparent. In January, ASEAN surpassed Japan to become China's third largest trading partner. As of the end of February, Chinese enterprises made breakthroughs in the stock of direct investment in ASEAN, reaching 8.57 billion US dollars, more than eight times before the first China-ASEAN Expo in 2004.

It is understood that the 7th China-ASEAN Expo will be held in Nanning, Guangxi from October 20th to 24th. At present, the exhibition and exhibition work is progressing smoothly. Six countries in ASEAN have confirmed the exhibition of exhibitors, and the number of domestic reservations has exceeded 1,200.