This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue relations between China and ASEAN countries as well as the Year of China-ASEAN Friendship and Cooperation. With closer economic and trade ties between them, trade continues its rapid growth momentum.

 

Statistics from customs show that in the first ten months of this year trade with ASEAN members through the Ningbo port reached a total volume of US$3.41 billion. This is up 18.2 percent from the same period of 2005.  

 

A remarkable change in port trade with the region lies in the makeup of import and export enterprises with private businesses emerging as the dark horses.

 

In the January-October period, private businesses went to top place with a trade volume of US$1.1 billion with ASEAN. This is a year-on-year increase of 74.5 percent. However, the import and export volume of state-owned enterprises with the region fell away by 18.1 percent.

 

Ningbo port mainly imports chemical and mineral products and plastic-rubber commodities from ASEAN and exports mechanical and electrical equipment, textile goods and base metals and their products.

 

Since 1990, trade between China and ASEAN countries has continued to rise with an average annual growth rate of some 20 percent. In 2004 the figure reached US$105.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 35 percent. ASEAN is the largest trading partner of China among developing countries and their bilateral trade grows much faster than with other major trading partners.

 

They've also carried out fruitful cooperation in mutual investment, contract projects, labor cooperation and the like.

 

(Chinanews.cn, translated by Yuan Fang for China.org.cn December 1, 2006)