China, ASEAN sign trade in services agreement of FTA
Xinhua, January 15, 2007
China, ASEAN sign trade in services agreement of FTA
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed on Sunday in Cebu an agreement on Trade in Services of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.
The agreement was signed following the 10th China-ASEAN Summit. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and leaders of the 10 ASEAN member countries attended the signing ceremony in Cebu, the second largest city of the Philippines.
TIS AGREEMENT TO ENTER INTO FORCE IN JULY
The Trade in Services Agreement under the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between China and ASEAN (TIS Agreement) will enter into force in July 2007. It aims to expand trade in services in the region.
Under the agreement, services and services suppliers/providers in the region will enjoy improved market access and national treatment in sectors/subsectors where commitments have been made.
"The TIS Agreement provides for liberalization on substantial coverage of sectors/subsectors especially in more than 60 additional subsectors committed by ASEAN Member Countries which are parties to the GATT/WTO," said a statement issued to the press.
Aside from increased trade, the TIS Agreement is also expected to bring about higher levels of investment in the region, particular in sectors where commitments have been made, namely: business service, construction and engineering related services, tourism and travel related services, transport and educational services, telecommunication services, recreational, cultural and sporting services, environmental services and energy services.
"Successive rounds of market access negotiations to substantially improve the level of commitments and broaden the subsector coverage of the TIS Agreement will be undertaken over the next one year," said the statement.
WEN JIABAO HAILS SIGNING OF TIS AGREEMENT
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao hailed the signing of the TIS Agreement as another achievement in China-ASEAN economic cooperation.
In a speech delivered at the 10th China-ASEAN Summit, the Chinese premier said the signing "will mark a key step forward in the building of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and lay the foundation for full and scheduled completion of the China-ASEAN FTA."
On Nov. 4, 2002, then Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji and leaders of the 10 ASEAN nations signed at the sixth China-ASEAN summit the landmark Framework Agreement on ASEAN-China Comprehensive Economic Cooperation, marking the beginning of the process of setting up a China-ASEAN free trade zone.
Under that agreement, the free trade zone would be completed by 2010, and the four new ASEAN members — Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam — have been allowed an additional transitional period of five years and are slated to complete the building of the free trade area in 2015.
After implementation of the Agreement on Trade in Goods of China-ASEAN FTA began in July 2005, tariffs on more than 7,000 ASEAN and Chinese products were lowered, and China-ASEAN trade has maintained steady growth, Premier Wen said. Two-way trade in 2006 reached 160.8 billion U.S. dollars, up by 23.4 percent over the previous year.
Wen proposed that China and ASEAN nations should, on the basis of implementing the Agreement on Trade in Goods and the Agreement on Trade in Services, speed up talks on investment agreement and complete the building of China-ASEAN FTA as planned.
China welcomes more ASEAN businesses to China and encourages established Chinese companies to invest in ASEAN countries. China will favorably consider setting up in ASEAN countries, on the basis of mutual benefit, a number of economic and trade zones which have sound infrastructure and complete industrial chains, and are well connected with other sectors and will spur local economic development, said the Chinese premier.
"I hope this will bring the China-ASEAN win-win cooperation and common development to a higher level," Wen added.
To support the building of China-ASEAN FTA, China proposes to strengthen cooperation between the customs and inspection and quarantine authorities of the two sides. China offers to host the First Meeting of China-ASEAN Ministerial Consultation on Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine this year, said the Chinese premier.
China is ready to speed up discussions with ASEAN and sign a memorandum of understanding on establishing the China-ASEAN Trade, Investment and Tourism Promotion Center, Wen added.
The Chinese premier also proposed that a strategic plan for China-ASEAN transport cooperation in the next 10-15 years be formulated to facilitate coordinated development of regional transportation, improve integrated transport networks, and facilitate communication and transportation.
The China-ASEAN free trade area, which will comprise China, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, is expected to be one of the biggest free trade areas in the world.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), established on Aug. 8, 1967 in Bangkok, now groups Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.
The "10+1" meeting is a mechanism designed to strengthen dialogue and communication, discuss cooperation, and promote peace, stability and prosperity in the region.
The ASEAN-China dialogue relations were launched in 1991. China became ASEAN’s full dialogue partner in 1996. The two sides established the strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in 2003. Recent years have witnessed the rapid and comprehensive growth in ASEAN-China relations, yielding fruitful results through extensive and in-depth exchanges and cooperation between the two sides in political, economic, trade, social, cultural and other fields.
China and ASEAN are now the fourth biggest trading partners to each other.
The Chinese premier arrived in Cebu on Saturday to attend a series of summits. He will also pay an official visit to the Southeast Asian nation. It is the fourth time for Premier Wen to attend such ASEAN-related summits since 2003.
