Jakarta. China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have recorded rapid gains in economic cooperation over the past five years, with bilateral trade nearing $1 trillion and tariff-free coverage reaching 65 percent, according to a new book published by Xinhua News Agency.

The publication notes that China has remained ASEAN’s largest trading partner, while ASEAN has also emerged as China’s top trade partner. In 2024, merchandise trade between China and the ten ASEAN member states reached $982.34 billion, up 7.8 percent from the previous year.

The report attributes the deepening trade relationship to frameworks such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Maritime Silk Road initiative, which have expanded trade volumes while strengthening industrial complementarity.

ASEAN exports of steel and non-ferrous metal products to China tripled in 2024 compared with 2019 levels, while exports of resource-based goods — including agricultural products, food and beverages, and mineral fuels — rose by 50 percent over the same period. In contrast, China’s exports of electromechanical, chemical, textile, and apparel products to ASEAN grew by more than 70 percent, while shipments of rubber and plastic products and transport equipment doubled.

The book, titled “RCEP and the Vision of the Maritime Silk Road: New Frontiers for China–ASEAN Cooperation,” highlights rapid growth in services trade driven by cross-border e-commerce and digital talent development. It cites Pinxiang City in China’s Guangxi region as an example, where a dual-function trade hub integrating e-commerce and livestream sales has transformed the local “transit economy” into a “port economy.” As a result, Pinxiang recorded a 400 percent surge in total exports and imports in the first seven months of 2024.

The report also points to Vietnamese livestream hosts marketing Chinese 3C products — computers, communications, and consumer electronics — directly to consumers in Hanoi, while Vietnamese rattan handicrafts and Thai durians are increasingly sold to Chinese buyers through livestream platforms.

According to Xinhua, the “overseas warehouse plus local store” model has leveraged RCEP’s digital trade provisions to sharply reduce customs clearance times, with the goal of achieving same-day delivery in some cases.

RCEP has also eased cross-border investment through a negative-list approach and a streamlined dispute settlement mechanism, which shortens consultation periods to 30 days, limits panel reviews to around 150 days, and removes appellate procedures. The fast-track system has significantly reduced operational risks for investors, the report said.

One flagship project cited is Midea’s air conditioner manufacturing plant in Chonburi Province, Thailand. Developed in partnership with China Unicom, Huawei, and Thai telecom operator AIS, the facility has become Southeast Asia’s first fully 5G-connected smart factory, enabling end-to-end digital production control.

The book also revisits the origins of the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Indonesia in October 2013. The initiative aimed to address transport infrastructure gaps that have long constrained economic growth across Southeast Asia.

Under the initiative, China and ASEAN have jointly developed a “rail–road–sea” multimodal transport corridor, with Chongqing and Singapore serving as dual hubs. By the end of February 2025, the network had expanded to reach 560 ports in 127 countries and regions worldwide.

Major infrastructure projects highlighted include Indonesia’s first high-speed railway linking Jakarta and Bandung, Cambodia’s first expressway between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, and Laos’s first standard-gauge modern railway. Malaysia is also constructing the 665-kilometer East Coast Rail Link from Kota Bharu to Port Klang with Chinese support.

ASEAN countries have sought to build a Southeast Asian segment of the Pan-Asian Railway for more than three decades, but progress was hampered by funding, technological constraints, and geopolitical factors. The report said the completion of multiple China-backed railway projects has injected new momentum into the long-delayed regional rail network.

“With an average annual contribution of 30 percent to global economic growth, China has served as a major driver and engine of the world economy,” Fu Fengshan of the Chinese Mission to ASEAN said at the report’s launch ceremony in Jakarta on Thursday.

“China and ASEAN are closely connected and mutually dependent. As good neighbors and natural partners, we should strengthen unity and promote shared prosperity through closer cooperation,” he added.