In The First Half Of The Year, China'S Import And Export To Asean Exceeded 3 Trillion Yuan

In the first half of the year, China's import and export to ASEAN exceeded 3 trillion yuan

In Fuzhou in early August, the blooming jasmine and the best-selling Southeast Asian tropical fruit fragrance attracted guests from afar. Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong said at the opening ceremony of the "2023 China-ASEAN Week" that the relationship between China and ASEAN is just like a Southeast Asian saying that "when the water rises, the lotus grows taller."

Since the beginning of this year, leaders of the Philippines, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and other ASEAN countries have visited China successively, and high-level exchanges have maintained the enthusiasm of visiting relatives. In terms of trade, in the first half of this year, China's import and export to ASEAN was 3.08 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%, of which the import of agricultural products alone reached 125.08 billion yuan, an increase of 7.5%.

Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Nong Rong: Among the imported agricultural products, the import of fresh durian has increased by 65%, and 80% of the durian produced in Thailand has entered the Chinese market through the China-Laos Railway and other channels. Chinese consumers are one step closer to realizing "Durian Freedom".

ASEAN-China relations: the most dynamic, the most connotative and the most mutually beneficial

In 2003, China joined the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. At that time, ASEAN was China's fifth largest trading partner, and China was ASEAN's third largest trading partner. Now that 20 years have passed, China and ASEAN have been each other's largest trading partners for three consecutive years. The bilateral trade volume will approach one trillion US dollars in 2022, an increase of more than 12 times compared with 20 years ago. With such achievements and cooperation foundation , the guests who participated in the first "China-ASEAN Week" have more confidence and expectations for the prospects of cooperation between China and ASEAN in the new era.

Somma Phunsena, vice chairman of the Lao National Assembly, said that after the opening of the China-Laos Railway, "the mountains will no longer be high and the roads will no longer be long" between Laos and China. ASEAN regional economic integration and connectivity have been strengthened.

Singh, Deputy Secretary-General of the ASEAN Secretariat, said that the relationship between ASEAN and China is the most dynamic, connotative and mutually beneficial group of dialogue partnerships between ASEAN and other countries.

Indonesian Ambassador to China Zhou Haoli has visited Fuzhou 11 times since he took office. There are thousands of ASEAN students here. China and Indonesia also have the first economic and trade innovation development demonstration park between China and ASEAN countries, exploring industrial interconnection, facility interoperability, and policy reciprocity. During this "China-ASEAN Week", the "Two Countries and Two Parks" between China and Indonesia held 28 major project start-up ceremonies, and 9 key projects with a total investment of nearly 30 billion yuan were signed on the spot. Zhou Haoli told the reporter of "Blue Room Observation": "Looking forward to the future, if we earnestly implement the cooperation concept of the leaders of the two sides, I think the bilateral trade volume between ASEAN and China will increase three times in the next 20 years, and the investment will also increase accordingly. .”

Expert: China and ASEAN have a common development philosophy

Why is the relationship between China and ASEAN so stable and strong? Why will ASEAN replace the United States and the European Union to grow rapidly and become China's largest trading partner? Experts believe that China and ASEAN share a common development philosophy and both value a peaceful development environment.

Xu Bu, president of the China Institute of International Studies and former Chinese ambassador to ASEAN, said in an interview with the reporter of "Lanting Observer" that one of the reasons why the practical cooperation between China and ASEAN has achieved such great results is that both sides are committed to Prioritize development, focus on economic development, and focus on improving people's living standards. The leaders of both sides have demonstrated political foresight and wisdom, and both realize that only when the two sides are committed to practical cooperation can the sustainable development of bilateral relations be truly realized.

Wang Huiyao, chairman of the globalization think tank, told the reporter of "Lanting Observer": The bilateral cooperation between China and ASEAN will also bring great support to the global economic development, peace and stability, so the cooperation between China and ASEAN is a new direction for our development in the future. , is also a new focus.

Shi Zhongjun, secretary-general of the ASEAN-China Center, said in an interview with a reporter from the Blue Room Observer that only by joining hands with China and ASEAN can the peace and stability of the region be maintained and the development and prosperity of the region ensured.

At present, China and ASEAN are actively promoting the negotiation of version 3.0 of the Free Trade Area and promoting the full entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. The in-depth cooperation between China and ASEAN has brought tangible benefits to 2 billion people. But at the same time, we have also seen that the unilateralism and protectionist policies pursued by some countries outside the region have had a certain degree of impact on the cooperation between China and ASEAN in the Asia-Pacific region. For the sake of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, all parties need to work together to overcome this interference and cultivate the cooperation between ASEAN and China into an evergreen tree.