Fifteen Years On, China Becomes One Of ASEAN's Most Reliable Partners

SINGAPORE, Nov. 13 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Nov, 2018 ) :With deepening cooperation in various fields, China has grown into one of the most reliable partners of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), since they established the strategic partnership 15 years ago.

Over the years, rapid and healthy development of the ASEAN-China ties based on mutually beneficial cooperation has made important contributions to regional peace and prosperity.

The ASEAN-China dialogue partnership is among "the most dynamic and substantive," according to Secretary-General of ASEAN Lim Jock Hoi.

As a close neighbour, ASEAN is sharing the fruits of a fast growing Chinese economy, while China is also gaining benefits from a more integrated ASEAN market.

Trade volume between China and ASEAN countries hit a record high of 514.8 billion US Dollars in 2017, more than six times of that of 2003, said the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. China remains ASEAN's largest trade partner for nine consecutive years while ASEAN is the third largest trade partner of China for seven years in a row.

China's exports to ASEAN countries reached 279.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, up 9 percent year-on-year, while imports grew 20 percent year-on-year to 235.7 billion U.S. dollars.

China's trade surplus with ASEAN narrowed by 27.4 percent from 2016, said the ministry.

Over the past 15 years, China has supported ASEAN's development agenda, including the construction of the ASEAN Community.

China was there to help when natural disasters hit ASEAN countries, and the close coordination between the two sides in coping with the financial tsunami in 2008 also deepened their mutual trust.

Both China and ASEAN agreed to handle sensitive issues and disputes through dialogue and negotiations. In August, a single draft negotiating text of the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea was reached between China and ASEAN, marking another significant progress on the negotiations of COC.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday urged ASEAN members to "work resolutely" toward economic integration, saying that visible achievements have been made after decade-long efforts of progressive steps towards deeper economic integration and openness in ASEAN.

For its part, China has pledged to further open its market and join hands with ASEAN to accelerate the negotiation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which covers some 3 billion population with a total gross domestic product of 21 trillion US dollars.