Complementary Agricultural Trade between China and ASEAN
In recent years, agricultural trade cooperation between China and ASEAN has flourished, with complementary advantages continuously emerging and accelerating their release, injecting strong impetus into the economic development of both sides and demonstrating a unique and significant position in the global economic landscape. According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs, in the first eight months of this year, China's agricultural imports and exports with ASEAN reached 290.6 billion yuan, up 9.7% year-on-year, accounting for 20.1% of China's total agricultural imports and exports. ASEAN has maintained its position as China's largest agricultural trading partner for eight consecutive years. The trade volume between China and ASEAN has grown from over 870 billion yuan in 2004, when the first China-ASEAN Expo was held, to nearly 7 trillion yuan in 2024, a sevenfold increase, and has maintained growth for nine consecutive years. Despite the complex and volatile global economic situation, it still maintains strong growth vitality, highlighting the huge potential and resilience of agricultural trade between the two sides.
The differences in resource endowments between China and ASEAN form a natural complementarity. ASEAN is located in tropical and subtropical regions and has rich and diverse tropical agricultural resources. The production of rubber, coffee, cocoa, tropical fruits, etc. remains high. Take durian as an example. Durians from Thailand, Vietnam and other countries are deeply loved by Chinese consumers for their unique flavor and high quality. In 2024, China imported about 1.56 million tons of durians, with a total value of 6.99 billion US dollars, setting a new record. Nearly 60% of them came from Thailand. China, with its vast territory spanning multiple climate zones, has significant advantages in the production of temperate and subtropical agricultural products. The output of grains such as rice, wheat and corn, as well as poultry and livestock products, is considerable, which can meet the diverse food consumption and processing needs of ASEAN countries.
Complementary industrial structures promote the coordinated development of both sides. China's agricultural technology is relatively mature, and it shows strong competitiveness in agricultural product processing, feed production, agricultural mechanization, etc. It can export advanced agricultural machinery and equipment and high-quality feed products to ASEAN countries, helping them improve agricultural production efficiency and processing levels. At the same time, the agriculture of ASEAN countries is mainly focused on raw material production and primary processing. The primary agricultural products they produce, such as rubber and palm oil, are indispensable raw materials for China's manufacturing industry, which is conducive to the stable production of China's tire manufacturing, food processing and other industries.
The alignment of market demands has driven the prosperity of bilateral trade. China's vast consumer market provides ample space for ASEAN agricultural products. As living standards rise, the demand from Chinese consumers for tropical fruits, specialty seafood, and other ASEAN agricultural products continues to increase. The rise of e-commerce platforms has further expanded the channels for ASEAN agricultural products to enter the Chinese market, allowing more specialty agricultural products to reach millions of households across China. Additionally, the demand from ASEAN countries for processed agricultural products and feed from China has steadily grown. The high value-added agricultural products exported by China have met the increasingly diverse consumption demands of ASEAN countries and provided rich choices for local farming industries.
The complementary trade categories have enriched market supply. Both sides have unique advantages in agricultural product trade, complementing each other. The categories of fruits, cassava, palm oil, etc. exported by ASEAN to China occupy an important share in the Chinese market, enriching the types of agricultural products in China's market and meeting the needs of different consumer groups in the country. The specialty agricultural products such as down feathers and animal feed exported by China to ASEAN are also popular in the ASEAN market, providing strong support for related industries in ASEAN and this category-based complementarity has continuously deepened and expanded the trade cooperation between China and ASEAN.
Policy-driven and cooperation mechanisms have facilitated the accelerated release of the complementary advantages of China and ASEAN. The full implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) has created favorable conditions for bilateral agricultural trade, with over 90% of intra-regional trade achieving zero tariffs, significantly reducing trade costs. China and ASEAN countries have actively implemented policy measures such as origin rules, further simplifying trade procedures. With the substantive conclusion of the upgrade negotiations of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 version, both sides will carry out more extensive and in-depth cooperation in emerging fields such as digital economy and green economy, as well as traditional agricultural fields.
Infrastructure connectivity has strengthened trade support. The opening and operation of the China-Laos Railway have become an important milestone. As of September 19th, the total number of freight trains operated along the line has exceeded 60,000, with a freight volume of over 67.6 million tons, including over 15 million tons of cross-border cargo transportation, and the freight volume has achieved double-digit growth for three consecutive years. The supporting facilities such as cold chain and storage along the line have been continuously improved, providing a more convenient, efficient, and cost-effective land route for the transportation of ASEAN agricultural products. The frequency of the iron-hauling intermodal trains on the Western Land-Sea New Passage has been continuously increased, further strengthening the logistics guarantee for agricultural product trade between the two sides.
The bridging role of exhibitions and cooperation platforms cannot be underestimated. The China-ASEAN Expo, as an important economic and trade cooperation platform, attracts a large number of enterprises to participate every year. At the 22nd China-ASEAN Expo held from September 17th to 21st, numerous agricultural product enterprises showcased their characteristic agricultural products and advanced technologies, promoting exchanges and cooperation between enterprises from both sides and reaching numerous trade contracts and investment projects. Various agricultural product professional exhibitions, online trade platforms, and others have emerged continuously, building a comprehensive and multi-level cooperation bridge for trade.
Looking to the future, the complementary advantages of China-ASEAN agricultural trade will further deepen and expand in multiple aspects.
Firstly, digital economy will empower trade upgrades. The deep integration of e-commerce platforms will break the limitations of time and space, and big data analysis will achieve precise supply-demand matching. The traceability system and intelligent warehousing and logistics will enhance quality control and delivery efficiency.
Secondly, the green economy will further expand cooperation space. Under the guidance of global green development concepts, there is great potential for cooperation in green agriculture and sustainable development between the two sides. China's technical experience in ecological agriculture and organic farming can provide references for ASEAN, while ASEAN's favorable ecological environment provides superior conditions for the development of green agricultural products. Both sides can jointly carry out green agricultural product certification and standard formulation.
Thirdly, supply chain integration will enhance regional competitiveness. With the implementation opportunities of RCEP and the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 version, both sides will further integrate regional agricultural supply chains. By strengthening upstream and downstream cooperation in the industrial chain, they can achieve coordinated development of the entire industrial chain. This deep integration will optimize resource allocation, enhance production efficiency, reduce production costs, and strengthen the overall competitiveness of both sides in the global agricultural market, promoting the process of regional agricultural economic integration.
The complementary advantages of China-ASEAN agricultural trade are acceleratingly released at an unprecedented speed. Driven by emerging factors such as digital economy and green economy, bilateral agricultural trade is expected to reach a higher level, making greater contributions to regional economic prosperity and the stable development of global agricultural trade, and continuing to write a new chapter of win-win cooperation. (Source: Economic Daily, Author: Zhu Jing)