FTA brings opportunities

Last year ended with lots of issues unresolved, like higher tariffs for Chinese-made products to the United States, Europe and other nations. Amid the global economic recession, however, there were many new initiatives taken by China toward the beginning of this year, such as the introduction of the world's fastest train connecting Wuhan with Guangzhou; planning of the largest bridge across the sea to connect Hong Kong, Macao and Zhuhai; and most importantly, the inauguration of the China-ASEAN free trade area (CAFTA).

All these initiatives are going to boost the standard of living for citizens and greater cooperation between cities. CAFTA is expected to promote regional economic cooperation as well as aid in the global economic recovery. The area has a combined population of 1.9 billion, a collective GDP of $6 trillion and total trade volume of $4.5 trillion. This figure is bound to increase substantially in the near future, helping many sectors such as logistics, transportation, tourism, among others, and give rise to employment opportunities in this zone.