China-ASEAN Expo bolsters regional trade
- Source: Global Times
- [00:16 October 21 2009]
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By Wang Xinyuan
The sixth China-ASEAN Expo opened Tuesday in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the last major meeting between the regions before the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) is launched in 2010.
CAFTA will be established as planned on January 1, 2010, setting a significant milestone in regional economic cooperation, Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang was reported by Xinhua News Agency Tuesday as saying at the opening ceremony of the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit which will last until Saturday.
CAFTA will cover an area of 1.9 billion consumers, with a GDP worth of $6 trillion, and a trading volume estimated to be $1.2 trillion. It will be the world's largest free trade area in terms of population and number of developing countries covered, and the third largest economically following the European Union and the North American Free Trade Area.
According to the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation signed in November 2002, a zero-tariff rate will apply to the majority of commodities traded between China and the six original ASEAN countries, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand in 2010, and the four new ASEAN members Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam in 2015.
