NANNING, China, Nov 2 (Bernama-AsiaNet) — In the first three quarters of this year, total trade between China and ASEAN has reached RMB 4.7 trillion, an increase of 15.2%, accounting for 15.1% of China’s total foreign trade. Among which, export to ASEAN has climbed 22% to RMB 2.73 trillion, an import from ASEAN is RMB 1.97 trillion, a rise of 6.9%. Obviously, China and ASEAN are each other’s largest trading partners.
With the entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), trade and investment cooperation between China and ASEAN are ushering in an ever-increasing number of opportunities. There is no doubt that total trade between China and ASEAN will continue to expand rapidly in the future. Moreover, China is devoting unprecedented efforts to prepare for this development by constructing a canal, the Pinglu Canal, in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region neighboring the ASEAN bloc, with the intention to expedite the transportation of goods between China and ASEAN.