CAFTA is highly expected to further boost trade and investment cooperation between China and ASEAN, so as to combat the lingering global economic downtown and bring benefits to both peoples in the long run.

The free trade area will cover 1.9 billion population in China and ten ASEAN members including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

"CAFTA sets up a significant milestone in regional economic cooperation and it marks that trade ties between China and ASEAN are to enter a new stage," said Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang at Tuesday's opening of the 6th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit held simultaneously with the expo.

CAFTA is set to create a combined GDP of nearly US$6 trillion to become the third largest FTA in the world, only next to the North American FTA and European FTA.

"Unlike American FTA or European FTA, CAFTA belongs to south-south regional economic integration. Even without the participation of developed countries, China can still serve as a huge emerging market the area, and Singapore is also a rising economy," said Lu Jianren, a researcher from Asian and Pacific Studies Institution under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"CAFTA has the potential to break the rules of north-south integration and set up a new mode," Lu said.

Experts agreed that China and ASEAN should take full advantage of complementary resources and economic structures to make regional prosperity come true.

Yang Tianpei, chairman of Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce, said China and Malaysia were dependent on each other and FTA would work for sure.

"China wants raw materials from Maylasia, especially petrochemical materials for its industrial development, and Malaysia wants a variety of goods from China," Yang said.

Yang also said high-tech products made in China would be desirable in Malaysia, such as household electrical appliances, mechanical equipment and IT products.

Still, some industries in China and ASEAN already feel the pressure from each other, as their products will have to compete on the same stage after FTA is fully realized.

Chinese experts said FTA would have an evident impact on domestic agricultural products, especially those grown in southern part of the country.

"Tropical fruits and grain from ASEAN countries are quite competitive. It's going to be a tough time for our domestic products," said Liu Jianwen, vice director of Southeast Asia Studies Institution under Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences.

Businessmen from ASEAN countries even started to think about strategies to resist future competition with Chinese counterparts from 2010.

"Chinese jelly and coco products are already very cheap and will be cheaper when FTA is established, and we have to increase efficiency and cut prices from now on," Effendi said, who himself often bought items made in China, including cellphones and cooking machines.

"We hate competition, but it's good for the company's long-term development. After FTA is realized, people in the region will get stuff with higher quality but lower prices," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2009)