China is willing to work with the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) to revise a number of provisions of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA), said the bloc’s chief.
ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan released the news following a January 22 meeting with Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo, who was on a visit to Indonesia .
In his welcome speech, Surin said ASEAN-China economic and trade ties have grown rapidly in recent years. Two-way trade exceeded 200 billion USD in 2008, making China the group’s third largest trade partner, he said.
After its enforcement as of January 1, 2010, the ACFTA became the third largest free trade area, with combined GDP reaching 6.6 trillion USD and total trade up to 4.3 trillion USD.
However, many Indonesian companies voiced concern that Chinese low-cost products would flood the country’s market and pose negative effects on some local production industries.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had previously spoken of the need to adjust a number of provisions of the ACFTA./.