Sheng Lijun, a research fellow with Singapore's Southeast Asia Research Institute, said the over-dependence of some southeast Asian countries on Western countries was negatively impacted by the 1997 financial crisis. The September 11 terrorist attack against the United States and the economic slowdown in Japan also cast a shadow on business climate in the West.

Against this backdrop, China's sustainable economic growth and prosperous market has made it a natural choice for ASEAN, he said.

Maintaining a peaceful and constructive relationship with Chinain order to get on board China's fast train of economic growth is conducive to the interests of ASEAN countries, he added.

Sheng believed that the China-ASEAN free trade zone, expected to be operational by 2010, will bring huge profits.

Li Zhaozhuo, chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region government, where the forum is going on, said Guangxi is an important continental bridge between China and southeast Asian countries.

To contribute to the building of the free trade zone, Guangxi plans to invest 450 billion yuan (54 billion US dollars) in energyand communication infrastructure, ecological protection, research,personnel training and development of local unique industries between 2001 and 2005.

(People's Daily November 24, 2002)