Hanoi (VNA) – Growing economic and trade relationsbetween the Association o✅f Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China arecrucial to securing l𝓀ong-term peace and shared prosperity in the region, XinhuaNews Agency cited Cambodian officials, scholars and exporters as saying.

For the first time since 1997, ASEAN surpassed the US tobecome China’s second largest trade partner in the first half of 2019. China’s customs data showed that two-way traderose 10.5 percent to nearly 2 trillion yuan (291 billion USD) in the first sixmonths of this year. In the period,China’s trade with the US dropped 9 percent to 1.8 trillion yuan (262 billionUSD). Chheang Vannarith, president of the Asian Vision Institute,said China is the top trading partner of ASEAN while ASEAN is the secondlargest trading partner of China. "The increasing economic interdependencebetween the two economies is the cornerstone of long-term peace and sharedprosperity in the region," he said. Against the backdrop of rising protectionism andunilateralism, the two sides should deepen their economic integration andadvance inclusive, open, effective and rules-based multilateral system, headded. Joseph Matthews, a senior professor at theBELTEI International University in Phnom Penh, said the steady growth ofeconomic and trade ties between ASEAN and China was underpinned by strategicmutual trust and confidence between the two sides. Ministry of Commerce Under Secretary of Stateand Spokesman Seang Thay said China has been one of ASEAN's most importanttrade and investment partners and vice versa thanks to geographic proximity andbilateral strategic partnership. ASEAN and China have so far cooperated very well in economicand trade sectors, he said, adding that with joint efforts and high commitmentsof the two sides’ leaders, two-way trade will continue rising in the comingyears. The spokesman added that the negotiations on the RegionalComprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, which is expected to beconcluded by the end of this year, will become a new booster for thedevelopment of bilateral economic and trade exchanges. Established in 1967, ASEAN groups Cambodia,Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,Thailand and Vietnam.-VNA