The rapid increase in China's economic strength is boosting
regional trade growth and economic integration, some 300 experts
from Southeast Asian nations and other parts of the world agreed.
At
a two-day seminar which kicked off in Bangkok Thursday titled "The
Future with China," participants are exchanging their views on
China's impact on the Asian economy, China and regional
integration, opportunities arising from China's Go-West campaign
and other related issues.
"The growing economic strength of China has deep and far-reaching
effects on Asia. By taking the country into the World Trade
Organization (WTO), the Chinese leaders demonstrated to the world
that they are prepared to play by international rules and make
friends with all countries, especially those in Asia," Thai Deputy
Prime Minister Korn Dabbaransi said in a keynote speech at the
forum.
"Many in the region have come to realize that China can be a
reliable partner. Bilateral trade volume between China and
Southeast Asian nations has reached US$40 billion a year and the
region's exports to China exceed those to any other place in the
world," he said.
Furthermore, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) and China agreed last November to set up the world's
largest free trade area, said Dabbaransi, who also chairs the
Thailand-China Friendship Association.
"China assisted ASEAN during the 1997 Asian financial crisis and
responded to all co-operation schemes initiated by ASEAN," he
noted.
"Now, China is ready for the world, and we should also be ready for
future cooperation with China," he added.
Sarasin Viraphol, an expert on China issues, said ASEAN countries
should set their sights on China's western regions, especially
those bordering Southeast Asia.
(China
Daily October 18, 2002)