According to the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between China and ASEAN, the formal FTA negotiations will begin in early 2003 and be concluded by June 2004. The tariff reduction program will be implemented beginning in January 2005.

The first round of negotiations after the two sides signed the Framework Agreement last year will be held here two days later, said Guo Li, assistant minister of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation.

Guo said that in recent years, China and ASEAN have made rapid development in economic and trade cooperation, as evidenced by the continuously expanding and fruitful cooperation in trade and investment, contracted projects, and labor services.

In spite of the global economic downturn, trade between China and ASEAN jumped by 31.8 percent to a record high US$54.8 billion in 2002.

Following the establishment of the China-ASEAN FTA, China's exports to ASEAN are expected to increase by US$10.6 billion, while ASEAN's exports to China are predicted to grow by US$13 billion, said Vice-Chairman Gao Hucheng of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which borders Vietnam.

Kanissorn Navanugraha, ASEAN chief negotiator, said the FTA will allow both sides to utilize complementarities in resources and create more cooperation opportunities.

"The early harvest program contained in the Framework Agreement shows that China and ASEAN have discovered innovative ways to promote cooperation," said Zhang Yunling, an expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2003)