China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have opened the China-ASEAN Plaza in Nanning city in Guangxi, China, aimed at bolstering trade between the Asian economic giant and its emerging Southeast Asian neighbors.
Earlier, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the plaza will serve as an important logistics base, an exhibition and marketing platform, and a venue for boosting ASEAN and Chinese economic ties.
“Premier Wen Jiabao has a vision of total trade reaching US$500 billion by 2015,” said Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN, at the Inauguration of the China-ASEAN Plaza on October 23, 2011.
Dr Surin admitted that while two-way trade between the two regions has been impressive—increasing nearly 40 times in two decades—Chinese total investment in ASEAN “is a pale shadow of trade numbers” at its current US$13 billion.
Once completed, the China-ASEAN Plaza will consist of two buildings with a total floor area of 480,000 square meters and will house some 10,000 shops. A 50,000-square-meter space has also been set aside for an ASEAN Specialities Trade Area.
The plaza was launched during the 8th China-ASEAN Expo held at the southern Chinese city of Nanning. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of bilateral ties between China and ASEAN.
To ensure total support for bilateral trade, officials from both sides held discussions on technical barriers to trade. The talks focused on five key areas:
- Establish an information exchange system on standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures;
- Hold official bilateral visits to share technical experiences and discuss identified sectors;
- Organize training courses, seminars, and other activities that enhance mutual technical capabilities, including support to narrow the development gap within ASEAN;
- Organize collaborative research; and
- Establish a regular mechanism for consultation, facilitation, and coordination in support of ASEAN-China initiatives to remove technical trade barriers.
Latest data showed that total trade between ASEAN and China is now worth some US$300 billion.
