Chinese and Southeast Asian leaders gathered in Nanning on Monday for a commemorative summit to mark the 15th anniversary of their dialogue relations, a clear demonstration that the Southeast Asian nations are striving to forge closer relations with China.

 

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told Xinhua before arriving that it was evident that China's development had resulted in huge business opportunities for other counties.

 

Both China's exports and imports have grown rapidly in recent years, which means China has become an important market for countries in the Southeast Asian region including Singapore.

 

The city-state country is China's biggest investor among the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and also absorbs the largest share of Chinese investment in the ASEAN countries.

 

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that China had become a close friend of the ASEAN and the cooperation between the two sides had been fruitful.

 

He spoke highly of China's efforts to develop economic and trade ties with the ASEAN. Malaysia is the second largest ASEAN investor in China only after Singapore.

 

Badawi noted that China's economic development had benefited Malaysia in many ways and China's success had made contributions to Malaysia's prosperity as well as the stability in Southeast Asia.

 

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo described the ASEAN-China ties as one of the most exuberant and rapidly-growing relationship across the world.

 

The rapid development of the ASEAN-China political relationship has offered a forceful guarantee to the steady increase of economic and trade exchanges, she noted.

 

Trade between China and ASEAN witnessed a 15-fold growth from 1991 to 2005. The trade volume in the first eight months of this year amounted to US$100 billion, close to the US$130 billion registered in 2005 as a whole.

 

The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area is expected to be on the top of the agenda of the summit. The free trade zone scheduled for 2010 will cover more than one-fourth of the world's population and create an economy estimated at around US$2 trillion, just behind the European Union and the North America free trade area.

 

ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong told Xinhua that the regional bloc had changed its perception of China's development, regarding it as an opportunity rather than a threat.

 

He added both sides must explore the best way to reap the greatest benefits from their partnership.

 

"The important thing is how to find what sectors could produce business opportunities, what sectors could allow us in the ASEAN to have advantages over China. In China too, the businessmen are now seeking what comparative advantages they have," he said.

 

As for concerns that China's rapid growth would take away many business opportunities and investments from the ASEAN, Ong stressed that "what's more important is that we are trying to guide these businessmen, who have lost their competitiveness, to other industrial sectors."

 

China is a very important dialogue partner for the ASEAN and has signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.

 

"This is very important and encouraging. It means that China is committed to regional security and stability," he said.

 

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung praised China's role in helping some Asian economies recover.

 

He said the China-ASEAN FTA would contribute to the economic growth of the ASEAN members as goods and services exports to China were expected to rise after the breakdown of tariff and non-tariff barriers.

 

On the other hand, China's exports will stimulate the ASEAN countries to enhance their competitiveness in various industries, he added.

 

(Xinhua News Agency October 31, 2006)