China-ASEAN trade volume is expected to reach US$1 trillion this year

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International Business News  –  China-Philippines Cooperation Forum was held in Beijing on August 22. Xu Ningning, executive director of the China-ASEAN Business Council and chairman of the RCEP Industrial Cooperation Committee, said in his speech that the trade volume between China and ASEAN is expected to reach US$1 trillion this year.

Xu Ningning mentioned that China-ASEAN formally established a comprehensive strategic partnership at the end of last year. This year is the year when the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement came into effect and the China-ASEAN region maintains the fundamentals of long-term sound economic development.

Data show that from January to July, the trade volume between China and ASEAN reached US$544.88 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.1%. China has been ASEAN’s largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years. From January to July this year, ASEAN continued to be China’s largest trading partner. Xu Ningning believes that according to the growth rate of trade between China and ASEAN this year, the trade volume between the two sides is expected to reach 1 trillion US dollars this year.

Xu Ningning also pointed out that since the beginning of this year, the Philippine economy has recovered rapidly. In the first State of the Union address released by Philippine President Marcos since taking office, he set the country’s economic growth target at 6.5% to 7.5% this year, which also indicates that there are many business opportunities in the Philippines.

Facing unfavorable factors such as the current turbulent international situation, sluggish world economic growth, and the spread of the global epidemic, China and the Philippines, which live next to each other, enhance cooperation and fully exploit the economic and trade complementarity of the two countries. realistic choice.

Xu Ningning put forward some suggestions on enhancing the economic and trade cooperation between China and the Philippines. First of all, proceed from the overall situation, long-term and current needs, consolidate and develop the comprehensive strategic cooperative relationship between the two countries. In the process of political and commercial communication, we will develop through cooperation and mutual assistance; in the way of people-to-people bonds, we will consolidate the foundation of good-neighborly friendship and economic cooperation between the two countries.

Secondly, focus on enhancing the industrial cooperation between the two countries, actively strengthen the docking and cooperation between the two industrial business associations, and make economic and trade cooperation meticulous and practical.

“More Philippine companies are welcome to share in China’s big market. At the same time, China and the Philippines should cooperate to seize the business opportunities brought by regional economic integration, and look forward to the early entry into force of the RCEP agreement in the Philippines,” he said.

The China-Philippines Cooperation Forum is jointly sponsored by the China-ASEAN Business Council, the RCEP Industrial Cooperation Committee and the Philippine Embassy in China.