The full implementation of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) next year will accelerate economic development between China and Malaysia, a Chinese bank manager said here in an interview with Xinhua recently.

Zheng Jingbo, General Manager of the Bank of China (Malaysia), told Xinhua that trade tariff barriers between China and Malaysia, one of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member countries, will be eliminated following the full establishment of the FTA.

The FTA will bring business and trade between the two countries to a new height and also benefit the banking industry which serves as a bridge of economic promotion and trade development, he said.

Zheng said that the Bank of China (Malaysia) is committed to promoting trade activities actively between China and Malaysia by rendering value-added services.

Zheng also said that with the establishment of the China-ASEAN FTA, the room for the Chinese Renminbi Trade Settlement Service will be expanded.

China's Renminbi is relatively stable, Zheng said, adding that businessmen from both China and Malaysia are looking forward to settling their transactions in the currency because the cost-control is made easier.

He said the emergence of the Chinese Renminbi as a settlement choice in the Southeast Asian region will have positive impacts on China-Malaysia's trade.

Zheng also said that corporations from China will actively engage the relevant authorities in China to bring more investment, trade and other business opportunities in Malaysia.

Presently, more than 100 corporations from China have established operations in Malaysia.

Commenting on the prospectus future of the China-ASEAN FTA, Zheng believed that with trade and business procedures simplified,the bilateral trade between China and ASEAN will be accordingly boosted.

While China and Malaysia have been enjoying close trade relations, Zheng said that stakeholders from the two countries canachieve win-win situation.

The China-ASEAN FTA will be fully established on January 1, 2010, which will become the largest free trade area in the world embracing developing countries.

The ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

(Xinhua News Agency December 26, 2009)