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Currently, against the backdrop of a sluggish global economic recovery, the process of East Asian regional integration is accelerating. The RCEP is being implemented in depth, the construction of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 is progressing rapidly, and the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 has been formally implemented, ushering in a new stage of high-quality development for regional economic and trade cooperation. Data recently released by the General Administration of Customs shows that from January to February this year, the total trade value between China and ASEAN reached 1.24 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.3%, a significant growth rate. ASEAN has been China's largest trading partner for many consecutive years.
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Xu Ningning, Chairman of the RCEP Industry Cooperation Committee, draws on 35 years of regional cooperation experience to interpret the new landscape of East Asian economic and trade cooperation, providing a reference for deepening China-ASEAN cooperation.
I. Thirty-Five Years of Original Aspiration: Witnessing China-ASEAN Cooperation from Breaking the Ice to Taking Off
Reporter: You have been deeply involved in China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation for 35 years, personally witnessing key breakthroughs in bilateral cooperation. Could you summarize the core stages and achievements?
Xu Ningning: Over the past 35 years, I have been fortunate to witness China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation go through three key development stages.
The period from 1991 to 2002 marked the initial stage of cooperation, with China and ASEAN commencing formal dialogue. At that time, bilateral trade amounted to only US$7.95 billion, and cooperation was in its initial exploratory phase.
From 2003 to 2014, the region entered a phase of comprehensive free trade area construction. The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area was established, and bilateral trade and economic exchanges gradually expanded, making China ASEAN's largest trading partner.
From 2015 to the present, regional cooperation has entered a period of high-quality integration. With the upgrading of the free trade area, the entry into force of the RCEP, and the signing of the 3.0 version of the free trade area, cooperation has continued to deepen and become more practical. Bilateral trade is projected to reach 7.55 trillion yuan by 2025, and cumulative two-way investment between China and ASEAN will exceed US$450 billion by then, with overall cooperation results steadily improving.
Reporter: In the past five years, you have focused on RCEP cooperation. What work have you mainly done?
Xu Ningning: In the past five years, I have mainly focused on popularizing RCEP rules, facilitating industrial cooperation, and providing services to enterprises, thus contributing to the steady progress of regional economic and trade cooperation.
II. Focusing on the Kuala Lumpur Summit: Decoding the Core Consensus and Long-Term Direction of East Asian Cooperation
Reporter: The 2025 Kuala Lumpur East Asia Cooperation Leaders' Summit series was held. How do you evaluate its achievements and significance?
Xu Ningning: This series of summits served as a "strategic tone-setting meeting" for regional cooperation, with core achievements reflected in four aspects.
First, it consolidated ASEAN's central role. All summits upheld ASEAN's leading position, with all parties adhering to the "ASEAN Way" and resolutely resisting interference from great power rivalry in the regional integration process.
Second, it clarified the long-term development path. The implementation roadmap of the "ASEAN Community Vision 2045" anchored the direction for ASEAN's development over the next 20 years, forming strategic synergy with the RCEP and the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0.
Third, it achieved a historic expansion of ASEAN, with the formal signing of documents related to Timor-Leste's accession, increasing ASEAN member states to 11 and further releasing the overall market potential of the region.
Fourth, it yielded fruitful results in pragmatic cooperation, further improving the implementation details of the Free Trade Area 3.0, initiating preparatory work for upgrading the RCEP, and accelerating the implementation of key projects such as new energy and cross-border logistics. From an economic and trade perspective, the meeting released three clear signals: the trend of regional economic integration is irreversible, and the benefits of RCEP and Free Trade Area 3.0 will continue to be released; the focus of cooperation is accelerating its shift towards emerging fields such as the digital economy and green development; and greater emphasis is placed on inclusive development, paying attention to the participation of SMEs and the development needs of less developed countries, so as to ensure that the fruits of cooperation benefit more people in all countries.
Reporter: What new opportunities will the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 bring to China-ASEAN cooperation and the development of RCEP? How can effective alignment be achieved?
Xu Ningning: The ASEAN Community Vision 2045 aligns with China's development strategy and the development goals of RCEP, and the opportunities it brings are mainly concentrated in four areas.
First, there are opportunities for connectivity. The construction of transportation, energy, and digital infrastructure is accelerating, and projects such as the extension of the China-Laos Railway, the follow-up projects of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, and cross-border digital optical cables are being implemented, which will significantly reduce regional logistics and factor flow costs.
Second, there are opportunities for industrial synergy. Both sides have significant complementary advantages in new energy, electric vehicles, and traditional Chinese medicine, which is conducive to jointly building cross-border industrial clusters and enhancing the overall global competitiveness of regional industries. Third, there are trade and investment opportunities. With the increasing integration of the ASEAN internal market, Chinese enterprises can leverage the dual policy benefits of the RCEP and the Free Trade Area 3.0 to deeply explore the unified market of the 11 ASEAN countries, and the scale of two-way investment is expected to continue to expand.
Fourth, there are opportunities in emerging fields. Digital trade and green economy cooperation are becoming new growth points, cultivating sustainable new momentum for the regional economy.
To achieve precise alignment, three key paths should be grasped: at the strategic level, promoting the effective alignment of national and local development plans and vision roadmaps; at the rules level, promoting mutual recognition of standards and compatibility of rules through the two free trade agreements; at the industrial project level, focusing on advantageous areas to build specialized cooperation platforms; and deepening people-to-people exchanges to solidify the public opinion foundation for regional cooperation.