ASEAN-China trade boosting growth

Economic relations between China and ASEAN have strengthened considerably over the past two decades, resulting in rapidly growing bilateral trade and investment flows. ASEAN-China trade has grown strongly, increasing from $192 billion in 2008 to $515 billion by 2018.

A number of key drivers have helped strengthen the economic relationship between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

One major factor has been the fast pace of economic growth in both the ASEAN and Chinese economies. China's share of world GDP rose from an estimated 4 percent in 2000 to about 15 percent in 2017, and it is forecast to rise further, to about 21 percent of world GDP by 2028. ASEAN's GDP, too, has grown rapidly, at an annual average rate of about 5 percent per year since 2011, increasing its total GDP to $2.8 trillion in 2017.