KUALA LUMPUR: Trade among Asean Plus Three members valued at over US$1 trillion (RM4.21 trillion) is a testament of the enduring partnership between Asean and its partners, China, Japan and South Korea.
Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz (pic), who said this, added that Asean was working to strengthen trade ties with the individual countries.
“Since its inception in 1997, the Asean Plus Three economic cooperation has grown steadily and meaningfully.
“According to data from the Asean Secretariat, total trade between Asean and the Plus Three countries reached US$1.21 trillion (RM5.09 trillion) in 2024, accounting for 31.7% share of Asean’s total trade,” he said during the 28th Asean Economic Ministers (AEM) Plus Three Consultation.
He said foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows from the Plus Three countries to Asean stood at US$44.4bil (RM186.92 trillion), representing 19.7% share of total FDI into Asean.
The meeting also discussed the importance of Asean Plus Three economic cooperation in tackling global challenges and promoting inclusive and sustainable regional growth, and progress of the implementation of its Economic Cooperation Work Programme (ECWP) 2025-2026.
The ECWP is expected to spur positive outcomes in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) development, private sector engagement, trade facilitation, digital economy and sustainable development.
A commitment was also made to work together for meaningful outcomes at the 14th World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference next March and encouraged more Asean members to join the Investment Facilitation agreement.
The meeting also discussed the need to enhance the utilisation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), MSMEs capacity-building, the digital economy and joint research initiatives.
Tengku Zafrul said the Asean-Korea Free Trade Agreement will be upgraded with its scope being finalised.
“This will be announced to the Asean leadership when they meet in October,” he said after chairing the AEM-ROK Consultation.
South Korea’s Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said trade and investment relations between Asean and the republic continued to deepen and widen.
As for China, the Protocol to Further Upgrade the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Certain Agreements Thereunder (ACFTA 3.0 Upgrade Protocol) will be signed at the 28th Asean-China Summit in October.
Tengku Zafrul said that as the global environment becomes increasingly complex, it was important that Asean and China continue to uphold principles of openness, inclusivity and multilateralism.
“These principles are pivotal to ensuring that our partnership remains relevant, resilient and forward-looking,” he said, adding that a special consultation was held in May between AEM and China’s Ministry of Commerce with both sides reaffirming the commitment to addressing trade concerns and resolving differences through consultation.
China’s Vice-Minister of Commerce Yan Dong said China offered its full support to Malaysia as Asean Chair, confident that Malaysia will maintain Asean’s unity and centrality and promote more open and inclusive regional economic and trade cooperation.
Japan’s Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Muto Yoji said his country wanted to contribute to Asean during economic uncertainty.
The meeting took note of the updates on the implementation of the Asean-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP) Agreement and discussed updating the rules and standards, including in existing agreements such as the AJCEP and RCEP, to ensure they remained relevant to businesses.
“Although the uncertain situation continues, Japan definitely wishes to contribute to Asean in turning this environment into an opportunity to strengthen Asean’s supply chains,” Yoji said.
Asean’s trade with South Korea last year was at US$208.11bil (RM876.14bil), US$772.2bil (RM3.24 trillion) with China and US$236.4bil (RM995.24bil) with Japan.
