China-ASEAN trade, which surpassed the historic mark of one trillion U.S. dollars last year, has sustained rapid expansion in 2026, a Chinese official noted on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Vice Minister of Commerce Yan Dong briefed the media on China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation, as well as preparations for the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) and the corresponding 23rd China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (CABIS).
"In 2025, bilateral trade between China and the ASEAN surpassed the 1-trillion-U.S.-dollar mark for the first time to reach 1.05 trillion U.S. dollars, up 7.4 percent year on year. China has remained the ASEAN's largest trading partner for 17 consecutive years, while the ASEAN has been China's largest trading partner for six years in a row," Yan said.
"From January to July this year, the total trade value between China and the ASEAN reached 744.41 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 24.7 percent year on year. The bloc's share in China's overall foreign trade rose to 21.8 percent," he added.
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The two sides have signed the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol in October last year.
The 23rd CAEXPO and the 23rd CABIS are set to take place from Sept 17 to 21 in Nanning, capital city of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
This year's expo will feature an upgraded ASEAN exhibition zone covering around 20,000 square meters, with comprehensive improvements in exhibition product structure, scale of participating countries and industrial cooperation levels, showcasing new achievements of China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation, according to the expo secretariat.
China-ASEAN trade continues to grow after surpassing 1-trln mark last year: official
