Beijing – The China-ASEAN Business Council and foreign trade business association of Guangzhou jointly held the “Promotion Meeting of Business Opportunities in Upgrading China-ASEAN Free Trade Area” in Guangzhou, China recently.

Zhuang Liping, president of the association stated: Guangzhou’s investment in ASEAN countries had amounted to 838 million U.S. dollars in areas of machinery manufacturing, real estate, agriculture, mining, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, etc..

In the 13th AEM-MOFCOM Consultations held in Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw, on Aug. 26, 2014, ASEAN and China agreed to negotiate on upgrading the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) to ensure that the ACFTA remain dynamic and commercially relevant.

Zhang added that the enterprises in Guangzhou should seize the opportunities brought by this upgrading ACFTA construction to enter the ASEAN market.

Xu Ningning, executive director of China-ASEAN Business Council, said Chinese enterprises should take advantage of the Malaysia Port Klang free trade zone to expand overseas market. Port Klang is the world’s 12th largest and second largest port in Southeast Asia, playing a comprehensive role in industry, commercial, trade and logistics. Foreign-funded enterprise investing in Port Klang enjoy a preferential policy free of income tax for ten years.

Xu suggested the Chinese enterprises to invest and set up factories in Port Klang would be able to develop the consumer market of the ASEAN countries with a population of 600 million. They could also take advantage of free trade agreements ASEAN had signed with India, Japan, South Korea and Australia when exploring overseas market.

He added that China-Malaysia trade and cooperation highlights the cooperation in Halal industry between the two countries, as Chinese and Malaysia enterprises have set in Port Klang a center for Halal products reaching the international market.