China remains Asean's top trading partner for over a decade

BEIJING: China has been Asean's top trading partner for 10 consecutive years, registering a strong growth of over 14% last year.

Asean-China Centre secretary-general Chen Dehai said cooperation between the two sides has shown fruitful results.

"China has become Asean's top trading partner and vice versa, Asean has been China's third largest trading partner for eight consecutive years," he added.

Chen said bilateral trade between China and Asean nations was recorded at nearly US$600bil (RM2.4 trillion) in 2018, a rise of some 14% compared to the previous year.

"Over 55 million people travelled between China and the Asean region.

"Such close cooperation has boosted economic growth and benefited the people of all 11 countries," he said at an event here to promote the 2019 South and South-East Asia Commodity Expo and Investment Fair (SSACEIF).

Malaysian Embassy to China economic affairs minister See Chee Kong said bilateral trade between Malaysia and China saw a steady growth each year.

"We remained China's top 10 trading partners.

"Last year, our bilateral trade grew 13% year-on-year to US$108.62bil (RM436.64bil)," he added at the same event.

SSACEIF will be held at Dianchi International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Kunming of Yunnan province from June 12 to 18.

There will be some 7,500 booths provided for the event at 17 pavilions of different themes including South-East Asia section, Belt and Road investment, green food, green energy, culture and tourism as well as biological medicine and health.

The 17th Asean Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs Conference, the 3rd China-Asean Business Forum and various business-matching activities will also be conducted in conjunction with the expo.

Check out www.csa-expo.com for details.