According to the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) Q4 Report, China’s trade with Vietnam recorded a growth rate of 27.73% while that with Myanmar hit 146%.

The total trade between China and the ASEAN countries in 2014 accounted for 11.16% of China’s overall foreign trade volume, an increase of 10.66% against 2013.

CABC Executive Director-General Xu Ningning said that bilateral trade rose by 8.3% to US$480.4 billion last year. Of the figure, China imported US$208.3 billion worth of commodities from the ASEAN partners, up 4.4%, whilst its exports topped US$272 billion, up 11.5%.

However, there were downward trends recorded in the two-way investments during the period. ASEAN total investments to China fell 23.8% to US$6.51 billion whilst China’s decreased by 18.88% to US$5.98 billion.

The report forecasted that China-ASEAN trade would continue to be a key driver of Asian economic growth as the global economy is recovering.

Furthermore, bilateral and multilateral co-operation within the ASEAN-China FTA appeared to be very promising with the finalisation of the FTA upgrade negotiation and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as well as the conduct of ASEAN-China Year of Maritime Co-operation by the end of 2015.

Both sides expect a US$500 billion two-way trade in 2015 and an additional US$150 billion investment by 2020.

CABC also released the 7th famous brand list of ASEAN and China, which recommends 30 prestigious enterprises on both sides in the fields of food, pharmaceuticals, machinery and equipment, electronics and construction products in a bid to help local firms expand markets and co-operation in the region.