Guangdong province and ASEAN have seen steady increases in their bilateral trade in recent years.

Between January and November 2004, the bilateral trade volume stood at 28.94 billion USD, up 21.8% comparatively. ASEAN has become Guangdong's fifth largest export destination and third largest source of imports.

Between 2003 and 2003, the bilateral trade between the two sides grew by 22.4% annually with its volume reaching 26.49 billion USD in 2003, accounting for 9.3% of total imports and exports by the province and 33.8% of China's trading volume with ASEAN.

Apart from steady trade growth, mutual investment and cooperation between the two sides also proved fruitful. On a continual basis, accumulative ASEAN investment in Guangdong over the past 25 years amounts to 4.74 billion USD.

At the same time, Guangdong enterprises such as Guangzhou Tobacco are scaling up their investment in ASEAN. 84 Guangdong-invested enterprises have been set up in ASEAN with a total investment of 134 million USD. Between 2000 and 2004, The amount of labor and project contracting by Guangdong in ASEAN also reached 650 million USD.

The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area will be a blessing for Guangdong province, which is currently planning to host Well-known Guangdong Product Fairs in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia to promote Guangdong trademarks. An online policy presentation in relation to trade and economic cooperation with ASEAN will also be made. Representatives from industrial parks and governments of Thailand, Vietnam and other ASEAN nations will be invited to deliver presentations about their respective investment climate in Guangdong and to match their projects with local enterprises. 

Editor: Olivia