The ASEAN-China partnership offers businesses in the region improved market access, competitiveness, and economic collaboration. In 2023, ASEAN became China’s largest trading partner, with total bilateral trade reaching RMB 3.36 trillion (US$468.8 billion). Collaboration has expanded to industries like green energy and consumer electronics.

The partnership presents numerous opportunities for businesses in the region, enabling them to benefit from improved market access, increased competitiveness, and enhanced economic collaboration.

As a bloc, ASEAN is China’s largest trading partner, overtaking the EU in 2020. In 2023, trade with ASEAN countries accounted for 15.9 percent of China’s total foreign trade, with total bilateral trade reaching RMB 3.36 trillion (US$468.8 billion), an increase of 10.5 percent from the previous year. China continues to hold a trade surplus with ASEAN; in 2023, China exported RMB 2.03 trillion (US$283.2 billion) in goods to the 10 countries, up 14.2 percent year-on-year, and imported RMB 1.33 trillion (US$185.6 billion), up 5.2 percent year-on-year. 

Six countries – Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and The Philippines – account for the vast majority of China’s trade with ASEAN. In 2023, the remaining four countries – Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Brunei – accounted for just 5 percent of ASEAN’s trade with China. 

Since 2022, Indonesia has taken over Thailand as the third biggest trading partner within the bloc – in 2023 accounting for 16.1 percent of ASEAN’s total trade with China to Thailand’s 14.6 percent.

According to the GAC, ASEAN is China’s largest trading partner for intermediate goods, with bilateral trade in intermediate goods amounting to US$4.13 trillion (US$576.2 billion) in 2023.  

China and ASEAN have also deepened cooperation in industries such as green energy and consumer electronics, and China’s exports of lithium batteries and solar cells to ASEAN and imports of audio and video equipment parts have grown rapidly. 

This article is republished from China Briefing. Read the rest of the original article.

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