The all-round cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has greatly benefited both sides and helped maintain stability in the whole region, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview.

 

The China-ASEAN cooperation in trade, investment, security and other fields has helped the two sides "jointly deal with economic growth-related risks as well as traditional and non-traditional security challenges," Dung stated.

 

"The ties will present many more opportunities for the regional economic integration process, help make intra-ASEAN economic linkages broader, deeper and closer, create conditions for ASEAN to be more economically unified and powerful, and contribute to regional stability," he added.

 

"The economic ties have developed quickly and become closer and closer," the Vietnamese leader said.

 

According to Dung, China and ASEAN are the fourth biggest trading partner of each other with their two-way trade reaching US$143.4 billion between July 2005 and May 2006, up from only US$527 million in 1975, and China's investment in the 10-member association surges over 60 percent annually.

 

A stable China, which keeps high economic growth, will stimulate the growth of Southeast Asian nations in the future, while its efforts in forming the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) are offering both sides huge investment and export opportunities.

 

China has become the world's biggest recipient of foreign direct investment. The country's policy on encouraging its enterprises to invest and partake in tenders abroad has a positive impact on the economic development of ASEAN members, he said.

 

"The two sides have defined targets and orientations for developing their economic ties more deeply and comprehensively, under which agriculture, informatics, human resources development, exploitation of the Mekong River basin, and intensification of investment in markets of each other are key cooperation fields in the early century ... China and ASEAN have agreed to foster their cooperation and economic integration, eventually establishing CAFTA by 2010."

 

Economic benefits brought about to ASEAN by CAFTA in general and China's economic development in particular are fairly clear, he went on to say, stating that CAFTA will be the world's largest free trade area with over 1.8 billion consumers and gross domestic product of more than 2.5 trillion dollars.

 

With regard to trade, CAFTA will create opportunities for ASEAN to expand its import-export markets of goods and services. The removal and reduction in import taxes as well as non-tariff barriers will reduce the bloc's export costs, helping promote economic growth of ASEAN members.

 

"In addition, competition pressures from Chinese goods will drive ASEAN enterprises to perfect themselves, endeavoring to improve production for more effective operation," the premier said.

 

Besides, "CAFTA is of political importance to ASEAN. This free trade area will help forge cooperative ties and reinforce trust between ASEAN and China, laying foundations for ensuring regional peace and cooperation," Dung said, adding that CAFTA would also help enhance multilateral ties between the bloc and other big economic partners in the globalization process.

 

In addition to the closer economic relations, "security cooperation has been constantly reinforced," he said, noting that China and ASEAN have shared security viewpoints, taken measures for enhanced mutual trust, strengthened military exchanges, promoted bilateral security cooperation, and beefed up cooperation in anti-terrorism and transnational crimes.

 

"China's new security concept featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and cooperation is appreciated by ASEAN," he said.

 

"A stable and powerful China will make important contributions to maintaining peace and bringing about great economic cooperation opportunities to countries in the region," he stated.

 

He explained that being economies with interactive features, both sides have a demand for maintaining peace and security in the region and the world to prioritize economic development and enhance international competitiveness.

 

China and ASEAN should continue to improve economic and political cooperation mechanisms, both bilaterally and multilaterally, for the benefit of both sides as well as peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region, Dung concluded.

 

(Xinhua News Agency October 30, 2006)