A senior Chinese business official has expressed hope that stronger
economic ties between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will
not be affected by territorial rows in the South China Sea.
"China is not willing to see
an impact on economic and trade cooperation between China and Asean by the
South China Sea dispute, which would be harmful to both sides," said Xu
Ningning, executive deputy secretary-general of the China-Asean Business
Council.
But he did express concern that
rising bilateral investment between China and Asean members may suffer if the
situation continues to deteriorate.
Speaking at an awards ceremony
for Chinese and Asean enterprises, Xu warned that Chinese and Southeast Asian
investors may be concerned about their investment return if the tension
continues.
Xu said that although governments
will try to maintain bilateral investment growth between China and Asean, it's
up to the enterprises to choose their investment destinations and make specific
investment plans, especially under sensitive conditions.
"A closer economic
relationship and more comprehensive trading cooperation will promote political
relations of mutual trust between China and Asean," Xu said.
Founded in 2001, the council is
one of the five main cooperation mechanisms between China and Asean.
At the East Asian summit in Phnom
Penh, Cambodia, last week, Asean members, together with China and five other
Asia-Pacific countries, announced the launch of talks on what could be the
world's largest regional free trade deal.
China has announced its active
support for the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
Guan Dengming, China's former
ambassador to the Philippines, said that bilateral interests in terms of trade
cooperation are much bigger than the effects of territorial disputes.
"The cooperative development
between China and Asean would not be affected by the dispute," he said.
In 2011, China-Asean trade
reached US$362.85 billion, an increase of 23.9 per cent year-on-year.
By 2015, bilateral trade is set
to reach US$500 billion. According to the council, Chinese enterprises had
invested US$18.5 billion in Asean countries by the end of October of this year.
Bao Chang
Business & Investment Opportunities
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