China and the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are expected to make substantial
progress in advancing the free trade area (FTA) at their summit to
be held in Vientiane today.
The two sides will sign a
series of agreements, the most prominent of which are the two known
as the Agreement on Trade in Goods of the Framework Agreement on
Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between ASEAN and China, and the
Agreement on Dispute Settlement Mechanism.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao
arrived in Vientiane yesterday. He is in Laos Sunday through
Tuesday for a group summit between China and ASEAN, a three-way
meeting between China, Japan and the Republic of Korea as well as
an official visit to Laos. Wen will witness the signing of all
agreements.
The signing of the two
agreements shows that cooperation between China and ASEAN has been
developed from the framework level to more substantial content,
said Zhai Kun, a researcher on Southeast Asian affairs with the
China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.
The agreements have paved
the way for building up a China-ASEAN FTA, and are expected to
create a win-win situation for economic and trade relations, said
Zhai.
It will have positive and
far-reaching influence on the regional economic integration in
Asia, he said.
Insiders say the two sides
have decided to start reducing tariffs, which should be down to
zero for most products by 2010.
Leaders from China and the
10-member ASEAN signed the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive
Economic Co-operation in November 2002, expressing their
willingness to set up an FTA. They plan to complete it within 10
years.
The establishment of the
free trade area will boost the development of an economic region
with 1.7 billion consumers, about US$1.8 trillion in GDP and US$1.2
trillion in trade volume. The FTA will allow all members to enjoy
more favorable treatment in trade and investment than the World
Trade Organization can offer.
"To push regional
integration and develop FTAs has become a world trend, and
countries in East Asia should follow," said Vice-Foreign Minister
Wu Dawei.
He told a news briefing at
the ASEAN summit last week in Beijing that both China and ASEAN are
very positive in pushing regional integration.
Regional cooperation
between China and ASEAN is good for China, its neighbors and the
world, said Su Hao, a professor at the Beijing-based Foreign
Affairs University.
Economic cooperation is an
important part of the 10+3 partnership of ASEAN plus China, Japan
and the Republic of Korea, said Su.
ASEAN groups Brunei,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines,
Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia.
The 10+3 summit started in
December 1997 and Chinese leaders have attended all summit
meetings.
Forty-six dialogue
mechanisms at different levels have so far been established in 16
fields, including 12 ministerial-level co-operative mechanisms,
according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Professor Su told China
Daily that China had enjoyed many advantages in setting up FTAs
with ASEAN members.
The performance of
different industrial sectors in China's economies are varied with
some quite advanced and others lagging.
Such an economic structure
allows China to cooperate with all ASEAN members with their
economic development at different stages. This means they share a
lot of common ground, ranging from the advanced financial sector to
the agricultural sector.
While facilitating trade,
it is inevitable that countries involved will encounter a certain
amount of friction, and countries and governments are on occasion
required to intervene, Su said.
"The establishment of the
mechanism for settling disputes is very necessary and significant,"
he said.
Trade between China and
the Southeast Asian block is developing very quickly.
Statistics from the
Ministry of Commerce show that since 1990, ASEAN has been the fifth
largest trade partner of China for 11 consecutive years.
Trade volumes in the first
10 months of this year hit US$84.61 billion, up 35.2 per cent over
the same period of last year.
Officials and experts,
including Chinese Vice-Premier Wu Yi, predicted that total
bilateral trade volume is expected to exceed US$100 billion this
year.
China has a trade deficit
with the 10-member ASEAN, but hopes to see trade balance out as the
region grows, said Vice-Foreign Minister Wu Dawei.
"For this temporary trade
imbalance China has taken a very realistic stance," Wu said. "I
think in the long run, in our trading ties and economic
co-operation we will all benefit."
During the summit, China
and ASEAN are also going to sign the ASEAN-China Plan of Action to
Implement the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership for Peace
and Prosperity.
The Memorandum of
Understanding between the Governments of the Member Countries of
ASEAN and China on Transport Co-operation has already been
signed.
Zhang Chunxian, China's
communications minister, who attended the Third ASEAN-China
Transport Minister's Meeting in Phnom Penn last week, said
ASEAN-China transport co-operation is becoming more consolidated
with each step forward and has become an essential part of building
up a partnership of mutual trust and practical co-operation between
the two sides.
Zhang said the memorandum
will become a legally based medium-to-long term partnership between
the two sides.
He put forward proposals
to improve transport co-operation.
"A 'result-and
action-oriented' principle should be observed and more attention
focused on promoting specific projects while harmonizing the
development of different modes of transport to deliver more
benefits to the people," Zhang said.
China and ASEAN has made
progress in advancing partnership in the transport sector, for
example, the construction of the Laos section of the
Kunming-Bangkok Highway; the navigation channel improvement project
on the upper Mekong River; the feasibility study of the missing
link of the Trans-Asian Railway inside Cambodia; and the fact that
direct flights are now in service between major cities in China and
ASEAN countries.
China's relation with
ASEAN has improved in recent years.
Premier Wen attended the
last summit with ASEAN leaders in Bali, Indonesia a year ago.
At that time, China had
developed a strategic partnership geared towards peace and
prosperity with ASEAN, and was the only major power outside the
ASEAN to join the Treaty of Amity and Co-operation (TAC) in
Southeast Asia.
The partnership shows that
the political relationship between the two sides has reached the
highest level, said Zhai, adding that the TAC is a guarantee for
dealing with security issues peacefully.
When the FTA process is
initiated, China-ASEAN relations will have been developing in a
comprehensive way, he added.
(China Daily
November 29, 2004)
