China would like to see more imports from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by expanding its areas of bilateral trade with ASEAN, and will also try to provide Chinese companies more financial support to promote its foreign direct investment (FDI) in ASEAN, said China's high-level officials during the Third China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit held at the end of last month.

"Bilateral trade should not be limited to traditional areas, and should cover value-added sectors like machinery and electronics and high technology," said China's Premier Wen Jiabao.

"We should learn from each other and use each other's resources and technologies, expanding co-operation in areas like agriculture, manufacturing and infrastructure," Wen said.

Early this September, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce Gao Hucheng said coverage of bilateral trade has changed from primary products to finished products. And China and ASEAN will develop business collaborations in 10 major sectors including agriculture, telecommunications, tourism and human resources.

Since 1991 when China and ASEAN kicked off dialogue, the bilateral trade has experienced rapid growth. In 1991, bilateral trade was only US$8 billion, but the figure climbed up to US$130.4 billion in 2005. ASEAN is China's fifth largest exporter and third largest importer. By 2010, trade is expected to reach US$200 billion.

But an overall deficit in ASEAN trade with China exists. The figure was US$3.8 billion in 2000 and US$9.6 billion in 2005.

"Despite the deficit, China would like to open its markets, and import more from ASEAN," Wen said.

Mutual investment between China and ASEAN is another key topic concerning officials.

By the end of this June, ASEAN's FDI in China amounted to US$40 billion. But China's FDI in ASEAN was modest but climbing to average US$210 million annually during 2003-2004, compared with global FDI in ASEAN which averaged US$31.5 billion during 2004-2005.

"The growth of China's FDI in ASEAN is gaining momentum, and more Chinese companies are giving priority to ASEAN when they begin to explore overseas markets. ASEAN houses China's major markets in engineering projects and labour collaboration," said Wen.

The Chinese Government will offer US$5 billion in preferential loans to Chinese companies as it promised last year, helping local companies to tap into the ASEAN markets, Wen said.

Wan Jifei, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) is optimistic about the upward trend of China's FDI in ASEAN.

"It has only been in the last two or three years that Chinese companies have begun to explore ASEAN markets, with the government giving them more assistance. I think within the next two or three years, this will change greatly due to the increasing number of deals that Chinese companies are making with their ASEAN counterparts," he told China Daily.

Last week, a total of 10 economic co-operation agreements worth US$600 million in infrastructure, energy, textiles, and medical sectors between China and ASEAN were signed, and another 80 project agreements among China, ASEAN and some other nations worth about US$3.1 billion have also been closed.

The most important thing is "trying to provide a better environment for them, like reducing tariffs and offering financial assistance. CCPIT will try to create a good platform for them by offering more information and recommending projects," Wan said.