China has remained the largest trading partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for 13 consecutive1 years.

Trade between China and the ASEAN reached 544.9 billion US dollars in the first seven months of this year. It is up 13.1 percent year on year, accounting² for 15 percent of the country's total foreign trade, said Li Fei, assistant commerce minister of China, at a press conference.

As of the end of July, the cumulative³ two-way investment exceeded 340 billion US dollars, Li said.

 

Meanwhile, Chinese companies have been making steady progress in contracting infrastructure⁴ projects in ASEAN countries, with a cumulative turnover⁵ of over 380 billion dollars by the end of July.

 

The 19th China-ASEAN Expo will take place from Sept 16 to 19 in Nanning, the capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous⁶ region.

 

China will roll out measures, including professional online and offline trade matching and investment coordination⁷ services, to facilitate cooperation with ASEAN amid the upcoming 19th China-ASEAN Expo, said Li. Preferential measures in areas including customs clearance⁸, transportation, purchasing, and duty-free services will be provided for commodities to be exhibited from ASEAN countries.