The rapid increase in China's economic strength is boosting regional trade growth and economic integration, some 300 experts from Southeast Asian nations and other parts of the world agreed.

At a two-day seminar which kicked off in Bangkok Thursday titled "The Future with China," participants are exchanging their views on China's impact on the Asian economy, China and regional integration, opportunities arising from China's Go-West campaign and other related issues.

"The growing economic strength of China has deep and far-reaching effects on Asia. By taking the country into the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Chinese leaders demonstrated to the world that they are prepared to play by international rules and make friends with all countries, especially those in Asia," Thai Deputy Prime Minister Korn Dabbaransi said in a keynote speech at the forum.

"Many in the region have come to realize that China can be a reliable partner. Bilateral trade volume between China and Southeast Asian nations has reached US$40 billion a year and the region's exports to China exceed those to any other place in the world," he said.

Furthermore, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China agreed last November to set up the world's largest free trade area, said Dabbaransi, who also chairs the Thailand-China Friendship Association.

"China assisted ASEAN during the 1997 Asian financial crisis and responded to all co-operation schemes initiated by ASEAN," he noted.

"Now, China is ready for the world, and we should also be ready for future cooperation with China," he added.

Sarasin Viraphol, an expert on China issues, said ASEAN countries should set their sights on China's western regions, especially those bordering Southeast Asia.

(China Daily October 18, 2002)