China and ASEAN are determined to establish a Free Trade Area (FTA) by 2010
as scheduled, says a joint statement issued here Monday.
The joint
statement is inked by China and ASEAN countries following a China-ASEAN summit
commemorating the 15th anniversary of the establishment of China-ASEAN dialogue.
The FTA consists of trade in goods liberalization by 2010 for China and
six traditional ASEAN members including Singapore, the Phillipines, Brunei,
Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, and by 2015 for Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and
Vietnam, according to the statement.
China and ASEAN pledge to work
expeditiously towards agreements to progressively liberalize trade in services
covering various sectors. Both sides plan to promote investments by creating a
liberal, facilitative, transparent and competitive investment regime in China
and ASEAN, the statement says.
The two sides will set up a China-ASEAN
Center for Trade, Investment and Tourism Promotion.
According to the
statement, China and ASEAN will cooperate in ensuring energy security,
efficiency, and the development of alternative and renewable energy sources.They
will also strengthen cooperation in finance, tourism and air transportation, and
support the realization of the ASEAN Economic Community.
The two sides
encourage further cooperation in sub-regional developments such as the
development of economic cooperation zones in southwestern China and the Mekong
Basin Development areas, it says.
The summit opened Monday afternoon in
Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Chinese
Premier Wen Jiabao and leaders of the ten ASEAN members as well as ASEAN
Secretary-General attended the summit.
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