12th ASEAN-China Summit to focus 'connectivity'
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The 12th ASEAN-China Summit started in Hua Hin, Thailand Saturday morning with the issue of enhancing "connectivity" between both sides as the main focus of the meeting.
The Summit will follow up on the establishment of the China-ASEAN Funds on Investment Cooperation and on Commercial Credit, to which China has pledged to contribute 10 billion U.S. dollars and 15 billion U.S. dollars, respectively.
The establishment of the Fund was firstly announced by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in April during the annual Boao Forum, aiming at supporting the infrastructure development in the China-ASEAN region and enhancing trade and economic ties.
The operationalization of the funds will promote infrastructure development and benefit the expansion of trade, investment and people-to-people contacts between both sides, in particular after the full implementation of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (FTA) in January next year.
During this Summit and related ministerial meetings, three Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) are expected to be signed, namely, the MoU on Establishing the ASEAN-China Center, MoU on Strengthening Cooperation in the Field of Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment, and MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Intellectual Property.
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