The successive signing of goods, service trade agreements and investment agreements has made the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area a high-quality trade zone, not only achieving trade liberalization, but also making great strides toward investment liberalization. As a larger free trade zone between developing countries, it will have a model role for other developing countries.
The 8th China-ASEAN Economic and Trade Ministers' Meeting was held in Bangkok, Thailand on the 15th. The two sides signed the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area Investment Agreement, which marked the completion of the main negotiations of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. China-ASEAN Free Trade The district will be completed as scheduled in 2010. Experts interviewed by the China Economic Times reporter believe that the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area will not only make the two sides trade mutually beneficial and win-win, but will gradually change the international trade pattern.
Resist the crisis and overcome the difficulties
"The trade agreements signed by China and ASEAN and the more recent investment agreements are a very important result of China and ASEAN in strengthening economic cooperation in the system, especially in the context of the current international financial crisis." Zhao Jinping, deputy director of the Foreign Economic Research Department of the research center, told the China Economic Times reporter.
It is reported that in 2002, China and ASEAN initiated negotiations on the Free Trade Area. In 2004 and 2007, they signed the Agreement on Trade in Goods and the Agreement on Trade in Services.
Zhao Jinping said that the European and American markets have long been the main markets of many countries in East Asia, including China and ASEAN. The external markets of these countries have been hit hard during this financial crisis. The crisis has brought us the hint of improving trade within the region. Level and strengthen the economic mutual friendly relationship among members in the region. This is not only a response to the impact of the short-term financial crisis, but also a strategic measure to strengthen regional cooperation, especially to achieve stable economic cooperation within the region.
The European and American markets account for 30%-45% of China's foreign trade, while ASEAN only accounts for 7% of China's foreign trade. With the establishment of China-ASEAN free trade relations, mutual investment and trade will rise, and the status as a trading partner and The effect will also increase.
Xu Changwen, director of the Asian-African Research Department of the International Trade and Economic Cooperation Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, told the China Economic Times: "The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area was originally a commodity trade and service trade. It is now an investment agreement. In the past few years, bilateral trade and investment have developed. It’s very fast. In 2001, our trade with ASEAN was only 41.6 billion U.S. dollars. In the first half of this year, it reached 88 billion U.S. dollars. In half a year, it has more than doubled in 2001. This will be greatly expanded. It can be seen that the signing of the agreement will bring both parties Great interest."
The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area involves 1.9 billion people, with a GDP of nearly 6 trillion US dollars and a total trade volume of about 4.5 trillion US dollars. As a larger trade zone between developing countries, its impact is not only Helping to strengthen trade between China and ASEAN and demonstrating to other developing countries.
“The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area is a high-quality free trade zone, not only restricted to trade in goods. The signing of goods, service trade agreements and investment agreements has made it a high-quality trade zone, not only achieving trade liberalization, And it is moving toward investment liberalization," Zhao Jinping said.
In addition, the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area is conducive to the promotion of the internationalization of the RMB. Many ASEAN countries are willing to use the RMB for trade settlement, especially when Vietnam, Laos and other countries and China conduct border trade,†Xu Changwen said.
Mutual benefit and win-win is greater than competition
"China and ASEAN have both a competitive side and a complementary side. From the perspective of competition, the dependence on foreign exports is relatively high, and Europe and the United States are their main markets, not excluded in Europe and the United States and other advanced economies. In the market, the commodities of these two economies have a competitive relationship; in addition, in attracting investment, both adopt a policy of attracting foreign investment.†Zhao Jinping said.
But he said that the complementarity between the two sides far exceeds competition and complementarity is the mainstream. In terms of trade, the two sides have formed a cross-border division of labor cooperation mechanism in many fields and formed an industrial chain. For example, the parts produced in China enter the ASEAN portfolio and then enter the developed countries, or the parts produced by ASEAN enter the Chinese processing and enter the developed countries. The division of labor and cooperation is very close. The free trade zone further deepened the division of labor, greatly reduced costs, and the exchanges were very convenient, deepening the division of labor and cooperation.
From a commodity perspective, Zhao Jinping believes that the complementary performance of China and ASEAN's merchandise trade is more obvious. China has some products with comparative advantages, such as the international competitiveness of some mechanical and electrical products. For ASEAN, agricultural products such as fruits have comparative advantages, and petroleum energy products also have advantages. Moreover, China's current trade deficit with ASEAN is a deficit. For ASEAN, the establishment of free trade relations, especially the reduction of tariffs, will enable ASEAN to obtain huge commercial interests and further enlarge and strengthen the complementary relationship between the two sides.
In addition, Zhao Jinping said that from the perspective of investment, China’s foreign-invested Middle East alliance has a high proportion. Through investment, the economic relationship between the two sides has been strengthened from the industrial chain, and “you have me, I have youâ€. pattern. At the same time, China's foreign investment growth is also relatively fast. In the future, ASEAN will be an important destination for Chinese investment, especially for labor-intensive products and resource development, which is mutually beneficial and mutually beneficial.
"Opportunity is greater than the challenge, and complementarity greatly exceeds competition. If cooperation is not limited to the region, but participates in international competition, the mutual benefit and mutual benefit will be more obvious." Zhao Jinping said.
Gradually changing the pattern of international trade
"From the perspective of international trade pattern, people used to think that the trade pattern of Asia is to import parts from developed countries for processing and then export the products to developed countries. This pattern will change in the future." Zhao Jinping said.
Trade in the euro zone accounts for about 60% of its total trade, while intra-regional trade between China and ASEAN only accounts for 20%-30%. China and ASEAN rely on external markets for a long time and are more vulnerable to external crises. Zhao Jinping said that the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area could increase the proportion of intra-regional trade, help reduce dependence on external markets and maintain long-term stability of the trade economy.
In addition, the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, especially the signing of investment agreements, will facilitate the external investment in any part of the region once the trade is liberalized, and the expansion of the market will drive the role of investment growth. More capital will flow to this free trade zone," Zhao Jinping said.
In this regard, Zhao Jinping took the example of many investors in Taiwan to increase investment in Guangxi. "These investors just want to take advantage of the establishment of the 10 plus 1 free trade zone and the expansion of the market scale. In Guangxi, it can guarantee to face China. To face the Southeast Asian market, both space and profit opportunities will increase."
Not only that, the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area will also change the Asian trade pattern. "Comparing the trade between China and ASEAN and Japan. In the past few years, China’s trade volume with ASEAN is 560 billion U.S. dollars less than that of Japan, but in 2007-2008, the gap narrowed to two or three hundred. In 2007, the trade volume between China and ASEAN was 202.5 billion U.S. dollars, compared with 236 billion U.S. dollars in Japan. The trade volume with ASEAN in 2008 was more than 230 billion U.S. dollars, compared with more than 260 billion U.S. dollars in Japan. More than 10 billion US dollars, so in the development of three or five years, China and ASEAN trade volume may exceed the trade volume with Japan." Xu Changwen said.
It is understood that as of the end of 2008, ASEAN’s investment in China totaled 52 billion US dollars. China has actively implemented the “going out†strategy, and its investment in ASEAN has also shown rapid growth. In 2008, China’s direct investment in ASEAN reached US$2.18 billion, an increase of 125% over the previous year. More and more Chinese companies use ASEAN countries as their main investment destination.
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