By DPA,
Singapore : Trade between China and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) reached $202.5 billion last year, beating a $200-billion target three years ahead of schedule, a report said Monday.
The pace of growth is increasing, according to the latest figures in the China-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) quarterly report.
Trade reached $54.4 billion in the first quarter of this year, up 26.2 percent from the corresponding three months of 2007.
China imported $28.8 billion worth of goods from ASEAN in the first quarter. Its exports to the region accounted to $25.61, leaving China with a trade deficit of $3.19 billion, according to the data.
Among the issues to be ironed out are the varying levels of economic development among ASEAN countries, said Xu Ningning, deputy secretary-general of the CABC’s secretariat in China.
Other investment barriers include differing labour laws and policies.
An agreement on a China-ASEAN free trade zone is on track to be completed by 2010, Xu said, uniting China’s 1.3 billion people and ASEAN’s 500 million people in a single market.
All products will enjoy zero tariffs under the pact
ASEAN includes Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.