China-ASEAN cooperation will show greater results in 2023

China and ASEAN are each other's largest trading partners and important investment partners. In 2022, ASEAN will continue to maintain China's status as the largest trading partner. In 2023, the economic situation of ASEAN countries has attracted the attention of provinces, cities, industries and enterprises that China is developing and plans to develop economic and trade cooperation with ASEAN countries. Xu Ningning, executive chairman of the China-ASEAN Business Council, chairman of the RCEP Industrial Cooperation Committee and chief China-ASEAN business expert, said in an interview that he was generally optimistic about the economic situation of ASEAN countries in 2023 and that China-ASEAN cooperation would also show greater results.

The data shows that in 2022, the economic and trade exchanges between China and ASEAN will be closer, and the import and export scale will reach 6.52 trillion yuan, an increase of 15%. Over the same period, the share of ASEAN in China's foreign trade increased by 1 percentage point from 2021, reaching 15.5%.

Looking forward to 2023, Xu Ningning believes that the economies of ASEAN countries will continue to develop well, and the bilateral trade between China and ASEAN is expected to make new and greater progress.

First, it is predicted that the economies of ASEAN member countries will grow positively in 2023. According to the latest forecast released by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank, the economic growth rate of ASEAN member countries in 2023 will be more than 6% in Vietnam, more than 5% in the Philippines and Cambodia, more than 4% in Indonesia and Malaysia, more than 3% in Laos, Thailand, Brunei and Myanmar, and between 0.5% and 2.5% in Singapore.

Second, the expansion of manufacturing industry in ASEAN countries in 2022 has laid the foundation for ASEAN economic growth in 2023. Under the increasingly severe global economic situation, the manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) of seven of the ten ASEAN countries was 50.3 in December 2022, of which the Philippines' PMI was 53.1, ranking first among ASEAN countries; Thailand's PMI was 52.5, expanding for 12 consecutive months; Indonesia's PMI is 50.9, which has been expanding for 16 consecutive months.

Third, ASEAN takes the lead in sharing the optimized management policy of personnel and goods exchanges that China has begun to implement with its geographical advantages and friendly relations with China. In recent years, the ASEAN tourism economy has benefited from the large increase of Chinese tourists, and Chinese entrepreneurs' business groups are increasingly exploring development opportunities in ASEAN. China and ASEAN are each other's largest trading partner and important investment partner, and China's economic growth will certainly benefit the ASEAN economy. China is the largest source of investment for many ASEAN countries, and the ranking of foreign investment in ASEAN has been increasing. ASEAN's investment in China will increase by 8.2% in 2022. As the first year of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two sides, the beginning of 2022 has shown a new cooperation trend. China, ASEAN and its member countries have reached a series of consensus and are implementing it.

Fourth, ASEAN is striving to promote its own regional economic integration. The ASEAN Leaders' Meeting held in November 2022 adopted 70 documents and declarations on the three pillars of the ASEAN Community, including the ASEAN Leaders' Vision Statement on "ASEAN Action: Jointly Responding to Challenges", the Declaration on the 55th Anniversary of the Establishment of ASEAN, and the ASEAN Leaders' Statement on the "ASEAN Connectivity Agenda after 2025", which emphasized ensuring the ASEAN regional economic integration agenda and enhancing ASEAN's resilience to meet future economic challenges, Accelerate the transformation of ASEAN to a highly integrated, competitive, sustainable, inclusive and prosperous economic region, ensure equitable economic development, narrow regional development gap, and promote sustainable development and regional economic integration through connectivity.

Fifth, ASEAN's economic development is full of vitality. In recent years, leaders of ASEAN countries have visited frequently and reached consensus on enhancing economic cooperation, increasing connectivity, implementing the development of digital economy and green economy, and jointly dealing with weak global demand, inflation, and international geopolitical conflicts.

Sixth, the implementation of bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements has helped ASEAN's economic growth. The implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP), the implementation and upgrading of free trade agreements between ASEAN and China, South Korea, Australia, Japan and other countries, the implementation of free trade agreements between Singapore and the European Union, Vietnam and the European Union, China and Singapore, China and Cambodia The implementation of bilateral free trade agreements between Singapore and the United States will help ASEAN's foreign trade and attract investment.