MOSCOW, August 26 (RIA Novosti) - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China affirmed the continuing commercial relevance of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) on Tuesday and agreed to negotiate an upgrade on its principles of organization.
"It [the upgrade] will … deepen the economic interests of both sides in a mutually beneficial manner," ASEAN economic ministers were quoted as saying by The Jakarta Post in a joint statement issued after the 13th ASEAN Economic Ministers Ministry of Commerce consultations in Naypyidaw, Myanmar.
The economic ministers were pleased that the world's second largest economy remained ASEAN's biggest trade partner and “reaffirmed their commitment to achieving the joint target of $500 billion in trade by the end of 2015", according to the statement.
China's total trade with ASEAN reached $350.5 billion at the end of 2013, accounting for 14 percent of the association’s total trade.
ASEAN ministers expressed confidence that the trade volume of the two economies would grow larger in 2015 when ASEAN implements its regional integration plan.
The ministers noted that the agreement to upgrade the ACFTA was a testament to the strong positive relationships between ASEAN and China and exchanged views on how to further promote China-ASEAN cooperation in the future.
