Xinhua news agency Kuala Lumpur, September 18th, interview with Umeå looking forward to ASEAN and China¡¯s win-win development ¨C Umatyev, a researcher at Malaysia¡¯s Estée University

Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Jiawei Mao Pengfei

In a written interview with Xinhua news agency reporters, Umatvi Munichinan, director of the department of management and director of financial economics courses at the Estya University of Business and Management, Malaysia, said that China is committed to promoting a high level of opening-up and expects ASEAN and China to continue to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and win-win development through China-ASEAN Expo and other economic and trade platforms.

The 22nd China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (hereinafter referred to as the "Eastern Expo") opened on 17th in Guangzhou Nanjing. This East Expo was held in Beijing in 2025 with the theme of "Number Enabling Development, Innovation Leading the Future - China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone 3.0 New Opportunities to Build a Fate Community", focusing on Number Enabling and Innovative Development.

In her view, China¡¯s international trade development presents the characteristics of openness, pragmatism and innovation. On the one hand, China has further relaxed market access and promoted orderly opening up in the service sector; on the other hand, China has created economic and trade exchange cooperation platforms such as the East Expo, the Service Trade Conference and the Expo, while attracting global enterprises to participate in the exhibition, and has also transformed these exchanges into real cooperation. In addition, China and regional partners work together to promote the matching of rules in the fields of digital services, green industry and logistics, and jointly build a new digital economy with global competitiveness.

The data show that China and ASEAN have been each other¡¯s largest trading partners for years in a row. This year from 1 to July, China¡¯s trade with ASEAN reached $5970 billion, an increase of 8.2%, accounting for 16.7% of China¡¯s total foreign trade in the same period. Behind the growth is the growing political mutual trust and growing economic and trade relations between the two sides, demonstrating the resilience and vitality of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone in the global trade system.

Umatavi said the ASEAN region has long been seen as a supplier of raw materials or low-cost goods.If it can make full use of platforms such as the East Expo, the Service Trade Conference, ASEAN is expected to accelerate to become a hub in global digital services, green energy solutions, healthcare, logistics and culture.

Looking forward to the future, Umatwei expects ASEAN policymakers to take advantage of economic and trade cooperation opportunities such as the East Expo to further promote reforms and make economic and trade exchanges between ASEAN and China smoother. (End)