Asean, China reaffirm trade pact amid crisis

NANNING, China – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China have reaffirmed their trade and economic partnership in an apparent bid to counter looming repercussions of the crisis in the global economy.

The ASEAN is pushing for greater trade deals with China after its government assured the regional group that necessary measures are being taken to ensure safety of their exported goods – especially in the wake of the recent discovery of contamination in some of its dairy products.

At a briefing yesterday ahead of the opening of the 5th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO), officials and representatives of both parties pushed for greater trade and economic cooperation between them amid economic concerns hounding both local and global markets.

Aveline Low Bee Hui, senior public affairs officer of the ASEAN Secretariat, said the partnership between the regional bloc and China should be further strengthened to enable them to hurdle adverse effects of the global economic crisis.

“If trade and economic cooperation between ASEAN and China is strengthened, this will contribute significantly towards minimizing the impact of the crisis on our respective economies and the world economies,” she stressed.

The ASEAN representative also noted that the significance and benefits of CAEXPO would be realized precisely during these trying times when members of ASEAN are expected to feel the impact of the crisis.

“The financial crisis has unnerved many people and business communities. Now on its fifth year, the CAEXPO takes place at an opportune time and can play a stabilizing role by providing a platform for the business communities to establish and intensify contacts with business partners,” she explained.

The bilateral trade volume between ASEAN and China ballooned to $171 billion last year.

The Chinese government, for its part, also affirmed the significance of its economic partnership with ASEAN.

Yao Shenhong, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce of China, agreed that economic ties with ASEAN is important for them as it will “expedite construction of China and ASEAN free trade area.”

The official said CAEXPO, which is considered the biggest business event in the region, has also been crucial in promoting cooperation in fields other than trade and industry.

He pointed out that the popularity of the partnership of China and ASEAN has also grown bigger as it is now recognized by economies outside the region, citing the participation of Japan, Korea, Ireland and France in this year’s expo.

Amid issues involving contaminated products from China, Yao assured participants that quality control is still a priority of the Chinese government, although it is not a key subject in the four-day expo unlike last year when a special forum was held on this topic.

“In last year’s expo, we focused on quality control. But for this year, our theme is information and communication technology so quality control is no longer in the program.”

“But this doesn’t mean that the Chinese government is not doing anything (to respond to the issue). In fact, the Chinese government has adapted measures to assure safety of food being sold to our people and to other countries,” Yao explained in Chinese.

The CAEXPO, proposed by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and promoted by leaders of the 10 ASEAN countries, has become an important platform for the China-ASEAN cooperation, which is represented by the symbol “10+1>11.”

“This symbol is simple but very important. It shows the power in joint forces of China and ASEAN. This means that we can create abundant opportunities if we join forces,” explained Nong Rong, official of the CAEXPO Secretariat.

The CAEXPO, the only international economic and trading event jointly sponsored by the governments of China and the ASEAN countries, is a pragmatic endeavor to promote the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA).

The four themes of CAEXPO are pavilion of commodity trade, investment cooperation, agriculture application technology and cities of charm.

Focusing on the China-ASEAN Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and keeping pace with the progress of the CAFTA construction, the CAEXPO, with win-win cooperation as its basic principle, targets economic and trade cooperation within the CAFTA and is also open to business circles around the world.

The CAEXPO is being held at the Nanning International Convention Exhibition Center with over 3,300 booths that will showcase products of China and ASEAN.

A delegation of some 80 entrepreneurs from the Philippines – mostly from Cebu City – is joining this annual event.

Also to be held here today is the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (CABIS). Also on its fifth year, this meeting aims to promote comprehensive economic cooperation between the two economies and accelerate the construction of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.

The theme for this year’s CABIS is “Broad Vision, Move Action” with focus on small- and medium-sized enterprises and investment cooperation.

The CAEXPO concludes on Saturday.