As part of the construction of a China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA), China will further open up its market in the next five years to offer Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries more opportunities in the Chinese market, and to promote common development, said Chen Jian, assistant minister of Commerce, on Thursday in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Chen made the remarks at the Senior Officials' Forum, one of the integral events of the Second China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, which incorporates the China-ASEAN Expo.

The topic for discussion at the forum was "Governments: Building a Mutually Beneficial and Win-win Environment for Regional Cooperation." The two sub-topics were "The Construction of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA): Building a Transparent, Free and Business-friendly Trade and Investment Mechanism," and "Further Strengthening of Regional Cooperation: Expanding the Field of Cooperation and Promoting Business Development."

China and ASEAN member countries signed the Agreement on Trade in Goods at the end of 2004 and a tariff reduction program under the agreement was launched this July, which signified the start of comprehensive implementation of CAFTA.

In August, China imported goods worth US$63.1 million under the reduced tariff rates, cutting tariff expenditure by over 430 million yuan.

Chen said that current CAFTA negotiations are focused on trade in services. Travel and sci-tech are focus points at the ongoing expo.

Southeast Asia is an important investment destination for Chinese enterprises. As of the end of June, 883 Chinese non-financial enterprises had been set up in the region and investment in signed agreements had reached US$1 billion.

"China and ASEAN member countries are working towards creating a stable, transparent and convenient environment for two-way investment," Chen said.

He added: "Deepening economic and trade cooperation accords with the interest of the people in both China and ASEAN countries."

He also called for further cooperation in agriculture, information and telecommunications, human resources development, development in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, two-way investment, small and medium-sized enterprise, public hygiene, and science and technology.

"China and ASEAN countries are friendly neighbors and have rich resources. A huge market is expected to be created by cooperation based on complementary advantages," said Chan Soo Sen, Singapore's Education, and Trade and Industry minister.

The Business Leader’s Forum was also held yesterday. Presidents of chambers of commerce and industry, entrepreneurs and scholars from China and ASEAN offered their views on the topic: "Enterprises and Chambers: Sharing and Exploring the Open Market Through Cooperation."

(China.org.cn by staff reporter Yuan Fang October 21, 2005)