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China, ASEAN ministers applaud robust bilateral trade, investment growth despite COVID-19

Abstract : Economic ministers from China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members on Thursday welcomed the robust growth of their bilateral trade and investment despite impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

People attend the
eighth Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial
Meeting via video conference in Hanoi, Vietnam on Aug. 27, 2020.
Economic ministers of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) members and from China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New
Zealand on Thursday underscored the significance of the RCEP in
post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery. (VNA via Xinhua)

HANOI, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) — Economic ministers from China and the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members on Thursday
welcomed the robust growth of their bilateral trade and investment
despite impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the 19th AEM (ASEAN Economic Ministers)-MOFCOM (China’s Ministry
of Commerce) Consultations held via video link, the ministers regarded
the growth as a demonstration of the resilience and huge potential of
trade and economic cooperation between China and ASEAN, according to a
joint statement of the consultations.

China remained ASEAN’s largest trading partner since 2009 while ASEAN
became China’s largest trading partner for the first time in the first
half of this year, the statement said, noting that last year the total
merchandise trade between the two sides reached 507.9 billion U.S.
dollars and foreign direct investment flows from China to ASEAN totaled
9.1 billion U.S. dollars.

The ministers reaffirmed the importance of strengthened cooperation
to promote trade and investment for economic recovery and acknowledged
the important role of the rules-based multilateral trading system in
driving post-pandemic economic recovery, according to the statement.

They reiterated their support to ensure the enforcement of existing
international rules as well as for the WTO reform to uphold a free,
open, non-discriminatory, transparent and predictable trade and
investment environment, it said.

The ministers hailed the Joint Statement on Enhancing Cooperation
under Free Trade Area (FTA) and Combating COVID-19 as “a deliverable” at
Thursday’s consultations, which sent a positive signal of utilizing FTA
to promote trade and investment, maintain regional and global supply
chains, mitigate the pandemic’s economic impact, and build a stronger
economic region, according to the statement.

The ministers also welcomed China’s organization of the third China
International Import Expo to be held in Shanghai in early November and
the 17th China-ASEAN Expo to be held in Nanning, capital of southwest
China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in late November.

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Source: China, ASEAN ministers applaud robust bilateral trade, investment growth despite COVID-19

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