Chinese and Southeast Asian leaders gathered in Nanning on
Monday for a commemorative summit to mark the 15th anniversary of
their dialogue relations, a clear demonstration that the Southeast
Asian nations are striving to forge closer relations with
China.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told Xinhua before
arriving that it was evident that China's development had resulted
in huge business opportunities for other counties.
Both China's exports and imports have grown rapidly in recent
years, which means China has become an important market for
countries in the Southeast Asian region including Singapore.
The city-state country is China's biggest investor among the
members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and
also absorbs the largest share of Chinese investment in the ASEAN
countries.
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that China
had become a close friend of the ASEAN and the cooperation between
the two sides had been fruitful.
He spoke highly of China's efforts to develop economic and trade
ties with the ASEAN. Malaysia is the second largest ASEAN investor
in China only after Singapore.
Badawi noted that China's economic development had benefited
Malaysia in many ways and China's success had made contributions to
Malaysia's prosperity as well as the stability in Southeast
Asia.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo described the
ASEAN-China ties as one of the most exuberant and rapidly-growing
relationship across the world.
The rapid development of the ASEAN-China political relationship
has offered a forceful guarantee to the steady increase of economic
and trade exchanges, she noted.
Trade between China and ASEAN witnessed a 15-fold growth from
1991 to 2005. The trade volume in the first eight months of this
year amounted to US$100 billion, close to the US$130 billion
registered in 2005 as a whole.
The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area is expected to be on the top of
the agenda of the summit. The free trade zone scheduled for 2010
will cover more than one-fourth of the world's population and
create an economy estimated at around US$2 trillion, just behind
the European Union and the North America free trade area.
ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong told Xinhua that the
regional bloc had changed its perception of China's development,
regarding it as an opportunity rather than a threat.
He added both sides must explore the best way to reap the
greatest benefits from their partnership.
"The important thing is how to find what sectors could produce
business opportunities, what sectors could allow us in the ASEAN to
have advantages over China. In China too, the businessmen are now
seeking what comparative advantages they have," he said.
As for concerns that China's rapid growth would take away many
business opportunities and investments from the ASEAN, Ong stressed
that "what's more important is that we are trying to guide these
businessmen, who have lost their competitiveness, to other
industrial sectors."
China is a very important dialogue partner for the ASEAN and has
signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.
"This is very important and encouraging. It means that China is
committed to regional security and stability," he said.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung praised China's role
in helping some Asian economies recover.
He said the China-ASEAN FTA would contribute to the economic
growth of the ASEAN members as goods and services exports to China
were expected to rise after the breakdown of tariff and non-tariff
barriers.
On the other hand, China's exports will stimulate the ASEAN
countries to enhance their competitiveness in various industries,
he added.
(Xinhua News Agency October 31, 2006)