$500 billion goal in ASEAN trade by 2015

China planning for $500 billion in ASEAN trade

by 2015 with boosted infrastructure

 

China's free trade zone in Pingxiang on the Vietnamese boarder

sees a constant flow of trucks between the two countries. 

Nanning, China – China is increasing its trade

with Southeast Asia,
aiming to expand imports and exports

by 38% from 2010 to $500 billion
by 2015 through the building of railroads,

highways and industrial parks in areas b
ordering Southeast Asian countries.

Beijing is working to develop
the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
bordering Vietnam to try to strengthen economic ties

with the 10 member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

China-ASEAN Plaza opened in October in Nanning,

the capital of China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,

as a venue for companies from
China and ASEAN to showcase

and sell their products. A large,

cold-storage logistics center was also set up in the suburbs

of the city to eanable direct distribution of ASEAN products

throughout China,
bypassing Guangzhou and other cities.

China has also opened a 590 million yuan ($93.5 million)

free trade zone in the city of Pingxiang,
on the Vietnamese border,

as a hub for bilateral trade with ASEAN.

Companies operating in the zone
can process and store products

without going through customs.

The zone is China’s only comprehensive

free trade area on a land border,

and Pingxiang’s distribution center bustles with trucks

carrying daily necessities and electronic appliances.
 

Ties that bind

A highway connecting Nanning and Pingxiang
has already opened.

The Chinese government also plans to
spend an additional 15.6 billion yuan
to build a high-speed railway between the two

cities by 2015, with plans to extend the line to Hanoi,

Bangkok and Singapore.
 

China and the six original ASEAN members
in January 2010 removed tariffs on about 7,000 items
– over 90% of the products traded
– under the ASEAN-China free trade agreement,

trade has since mushroomed.

China wants to support trade with ASEAN to foster

economic development in its relatively poor southern regions.

Stronger economic ties may also make it difficult for ASEAN

raise the issue of its territorial disputes

with China in South China Sea.
 

At the same time,

ASEAN is leery of China’s growing economic muscle.

In Vietnam, calls for restrictions
on Chinese imports are mounting

due to its persistent trade deficit with its larger neighbor.

Vietnam is flooded with Chinese electronic gadgets
and other products,

While its exports to China are limited to farm products.

To cut its dependence on
China and diversify its trading partners,

it is participating in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade

negotiations with the U.S. and eight other countries.

Cambodia, which is friendlier toward China than Vietnam,

Is also working to attract Japanese companies to broaden

Its sources of investment
and dilute China’s economic influence.
 

Resource：The Nikkei Weekly