According to the latest statistics from the end of 2006, the volume of China-ASEAN bilateral trade volume hit US$160.8 billion, up 23.4 percent from 2005. It is expected to reach between US$180 billion and US$190 billion in 2007.

Xu Qisong, an official from the Asian Affairs Department of the Ministry of Commerce, made the announcement at the 4th Summit on China-ASEAN Commerce and Investment Forum held in Beijing on February 6. He said that Sino-ASEAN trade has grown 20 percent on average every year since 1992.

He said that the actual value of ASEAN investment in China is about US$3 billion every year. By the end of 2006, ASEAN had invested in over 29,000 projects in China. According to incomplete statistics, the total investment registered at the Ministry of Commerce by Chinese enterprises in ASEAN nations has reached US$1.28 billion, including $200 million in 2006 alone.

ASEAN countries are the main market for contract projects from China. At the end of 2006, the value of labor contracts signed with ASEAN nations had reached US$43.85 billion.

By People's Daily Online