中国-东盟自由贸易区：东盟国家的祸还是福？外文原文.pdfVIP

ASEAN-CHINA FREE TRADE AREA 191 ASEAN-China Free Trade Area: A Bane or Boon for ASEAN Countries? Jose L. Tongzon National University of Singapore 1. INTRODUCTION AT their Summit in November 2000, the leaders of ASEAN and China agreed to further enhance economic cooperation and integration between the two sides by establishing a free trade area (FTA) between ASEAN and China (ACFTA).1 The decision was a natural response to a number of important global and regional developments during the course of the past decade. ASEAN- China trade totalled US$39.5 billion and US$41.6 billion in 2000 and 2001, respectively. ASEAN’s share in China’s foreign merchandise trade has been continuously on the rise, increasing from 5.8 per cent in 1991 to 8.3 per cent in 2000. ASEAN is now China’s fifth biggest trading partner. Meanwhile, the share of China in ASEAN’s trade has grown from 2.1 per cent in 1994 to 3.9 per cent in 2000. China is now the sixth largest trading partner of ASEAN. The potential for further expanding these trade links is apparent if we consider that despite the rapid growth of ASEAN-China trade, the major markets for their exports con- tinue to be the developed countries. In addition, both ASEAN and China are This paper draws upon the author’s earlier work (2002) commissioned by the ASEAN Secretariat to undertake a comparative study of ASEAN countries and China’s trade and investment regimes after the historic decision to establish an ASEAN-China Free Trade Area. The author is extremely grateful to the ASEAN Secretariat for the financial support and to the anonymous referees for