The Third Annual Meeting of the Business Council of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China opened in Yangon Monday to jointly explore the development issues of the two parties in trade and economic cooperation.

Present at the opening session of the ASEAN-China Business Council (ACBC) meeting were Myanmar Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt, First Secretary of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council Lieutenant-General Soe Win, Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Wan Jifei, Charge d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy Yu Boren, ASEAN ambassadors as well as representatives of the ASEAN-CCI (Chambers of Commerce and Industry).

Khin Nyunt and Wan Jifei delivered speeches on the occasion.

The three-day ACBC meeting will focus discussions on the role of chambers of commerce and industry played under the framework of ASEAN-China FTA (Free Trade Area).

The discussions will also cover trade and facilitation measures, trade supporting measures, the development of small and medium enterprises of ASEAN and China as well as regular business and information exchange.

The ACBC was established in November 2001 in Jakarta, aimed at promoting dialogue and cooperation between ASEAN and China and strengthening trade and investment ties between the two parties as well as supporting ASEAN integration.

The ACBC meeting will be followed by the 16th ASEAN-CCI Bi-Annual Conference and the 61st Council Meeting.

The trade volume between ASEAN and China increased by 8 times in the past decade, reaching 78 billion US dollars in 2003. ASEAN has become China's fourth trading partner with the trade volume tending to reach 100 billion dollars by 2005.

Source: Xinhua