ARCID China Update Vol.3, No.2

first half of 2020, the figure topped $299 billion despite the COVID-19 fallout, increasing 5.6 percent year on year.

The two sides have formulated multiple policies to enhance economic cooperation and restore economic growth during the COVID-19 response.

Chinese President Xi Jinping maintained communication with ASEAN leaders and reached important agreements.

Unlike Western countries' attempts to stigmatize China over the pandemic, ASEAN countries showed solidarity not only by providing medical assistance but also through special gestures like Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen paying a visit to China in February.

China also reached out to ASEAN by sending medical supplies and medical experts once the epidemic was brought under control at home. It held video meetings with ASEAN countries to share control and prevention experience while fast tracks were initiated between it and Indonesia, Cambodia and Myanmar to ensure the movement of people and flow of goods.

The growth of China-ASEAN trade will play a key role in regional development and global economic recovery.

East Asian countries' economies have performed relatively well in today's sluggish world economy. With COVID-19 still uncontrolled in most countries, the global economy has been weakened with major economies such as the U.S., Germany and France predicted to contract this year. But China's economy is poised to grow and ASEAN economy is expected to recover next year.

Meanwhile, ASEAN and China, Japan, the ROK, Australia, New Zealand and other countries are negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a free trade agreement in the Indo-Pacific region that will create the largest trade bloc in the world. The RCEP will be an important stabilizer for economic development against the global recession, leading the growth of the Asia-Pacific economy and vitalizing China-ASEAN economic cooperation and regional prosperity.

Moreover, China-ASEAN cooperation is an example of building a community with a shared future for humanity.

Xi put forward the idea of a China-ASEAN community with a shared future in 2013 during his visit to Indonesia, where he expressed China's willingness to be ASEAN's good neighbor, friend and partner. Laos signed an action plan with China for building a community with a shared future in 2017 and in 2019, Cambodia followed suit. China and Myanmar also reached a similar agreement during Xi's visit to Myanmar in January.

142 Selected Analysis