new economy

　　

China-asean economic and trade cooperation continues to deepen

The 19th China-Asean Expo and China-Asean Business and Investment Summit have concluded in Guangxi, China. A total of 267 international and domestic cooperation projects were signed at the Expo, with a total investment of over 400 billion yuan, an increase of 37% compared with the previous Expo. This impressive report card once again bears witness to the increasingly close economic and trade ties between China and ASEAN.

In the first eight months of this year, China's exports and imports to ASEAN rose 14 per cent year-on-year, and those with other members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) rose 7.5 per cent, according to data released by China's General Administration of Customs. The growth rates of both figures exceeded the levels of the first half of this year, and ASEAN continued to remain China's largest trading partner. Asean scholars believe that as RCEP continues to unleash policy dividends, China-Asean economic and trade cooperation will embrace more opportunities and unleash more momentum.

Connectivity fuels new vitality

Both China and ASEAN are important global manufacturing bases with huge consumer markets. With complementary strengths and deep integration of industrial and supply chains, our economic and trade cooperation is full of vitality.

Located in Pingxiang Comprehensive Bonded Zone, Chongzuo City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the Friendship Port is the main channel for China to import ASEAN fruits. During the peak fruit season, trucks loaded with durian, pitaya, jackfruit, mangosteen and other fruits from ASEAN countries pass through customs here in an endless stream. As trade liberalization and facilitation continues to improve, the "fruit basket" of China and ASEAN is getting bigger and bigger.

In 2019 and 2021, Cambodian bananas and mangoes became fresh fruits that could be directly exported to China, bringing huge business opportunities to Cambodian farmers. In the first half of this year, Thailand exported 1.124 million tons of fresh fruit to China, up 10 percent year on year, according to the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. Starting in July, China's General Administration of Customs approved the import of Vietnamese passion fruit through trade channels on a trial basis.

In addition to the mutually beneficial story of fruit trade, ASEAN has seen increasing demand for machinery and equipment as the region recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic this year. In the first seven months of this year, China's mechanical and electrical products ranked first among similar imported products from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and other ASEAN countries.

Running from Kunming in China in the north to Vientiane in Laos in the south, the Lancang train has been running through mountains since its opening at the end of last year, paving a fast track for common prosperity in the region along the line. As of August 7, the total volume of goods imported and exported by China-Laos railway exceeded one million tons, worth about 9.14 billion yuan.

In western China, the new land-sea corridor connects the markets of western China and ASEAN countries, becoming an economic corridor to promote trade between China and ASEAN. In the first half of this year, a total of 2,705 freight trains and 269,000 TEUs were delivered through the new land-sea channel in western China, up 112% and 319% year-on-year respectively.

The prosperity of the China-Laos Railway, the new land-sea corridor in the western region and the two major gold logistics corridors has effectively promoted the continuous in-depth development of China-Asean economic and trade cooperation.

Cross-border e-commerce has become a new engine

"Cross-border e-commerce has become an important factor to maintain and tighten economic and trade ties between Vietnam and China during the epidemic prevention and control period." Vietnamese Consul General in Nanning, Do Nam Chung said. Thailand's Consul General in Nanning Pangjamar Thavityanong said e-commerce can help people in rural areas of Thailand and China create and increase income, and the two sides should continue to strengthen cooperation in this field.

In recent years, cross-border e-commerce has become a rapidly growing new business form and model in China-Asean cooperation, effectively hedging the impact of the pandemic on trade.

As an important hub for China to carry out cross-border e-commerce import and export business with ASEAN, Guangxi has attracted more than 100 cross-border e-commerce enterprises. At the same time, Chinese e-commerce platforms are accelerating the pace of building overseas warehouses in Southeast Asian countries. In Indonesia, JD.com has built a stable and efficient supply chain infrastructure, with a distribution network covering most of the country's provinces.

According to a report released by the Boao Forum for Asia Institute in July, Asia Pacific is the best performing region in the world for cross-border e-commerce, accounting for 53.6 percent of the global market, thanks largely to China and ASEAN. China's cross-border e-commerce exports to ASEAN grew 98.5 per cent in the first half of this year.

According to a report released by the Boao Forum for Asia Institute in July, Asia Pacific is the best performing region in the world for cross-border e-commerce, accounting for 53.6 percent of the global market, thanks largely to China and ASEAN. China's cross-border e-commerce exports to ASEAN grew 98.5 per cent in the first half of this year.

New impetus has been injected into the RCEP

Zheng Zuoliang, a businessman from Brunei, runs a trading company that sells Brunei products such as shrimp chips and coffee to the Chinese market, while introducing Chinese products such as Wokang to the ASEAN market. On the facilitation of customs clearance after the RCEP came into effect, he said, "Customs procedures have been simplified. For goods that meet the requirements, Guangxi Customs will release them within six hours.

Vietnam exported about $1bn of aquatic products to China in the first seven months of this year, up 71 per cent from a year earlier, according to the Vietnam Aquatic Products Processing and Export Association. According to the Trade Promotion Bureau of Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade, RCEP has facilitated the export of Vietnam's major export industries, especially aquatic products, to important trading partners in the region.

Tang said that under the RCEP framework, both China and ASEAN countries have adopted the negative list approach and made a high level of commitment to open up investment in non-service sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, fishery and mining. The rule of origin accumulation adopted by RCEP makes it easier for enterprises to optimally arrange their industrial and supply chains between China and ASEAN countries. "These institutional dividends have effectively promoted trade cooperation between China and ASEAN. The implementation of free trade agreement frameworks such as RCEP shows the broad prospect of China-Asean trade with unlimited potential."