In this Op-Ed in China Daily, “FTA pushes ASEAN ties,” an associate professor at the School of International Studies of Nanjing University had these interesting statistics about the trade volume between China and ASEAN countries:
A much-anticipated free trade area (FTA) between China and the regional bloc was formally launched in early 2010, which, with a $4.5 trillion trade volume, ranks as the world’s third largest trade zone. The bilateral trade value in the first half of this year reached $136.5 billion, an increase of 55 percent year on year, and the figure for the full year is expected to total $250 billion.
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According to a Xinhua report, the 6th China-ASEAN Expo is being held in Nanning, Guangxi province, Oct 20 – Oct 24th.
I have mentioned in the past, that Asia is underway to form its own free trade zone like the E.U.. (For material goods,) the article says China-ASEAN Free Trade will commence in 2010 – which is on schedule. More details: China-ASEAN FTA to be completed in 2010, ASEAN envoy.
The E.U. took many treaties between member states to culminate in the union that exists today and then the single currency, Euro. See, E.U. Timeline for details. I see what is happening in Asia mirroring what happened in Europe.
In my Sept 1st post, “Yukio Hatoyama, Japan’s new Prime Minister: “A New Path for Japan””, I brought to your attention Hatoyama’s support of an Asian Union. In this Xinhua article, we hear Asian leaders continue the push towards this direction. It’s all slowly adding up.
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