90% of trade in goods between China and Asean (about 200 billion of USD) are free of customs duties since last 1st of January. The reciprocal tariff dismantlement, started in 2005, has thus reached its 2010 target. At the same time, the liberalisation process among Asean members experienced a further step: customs duties were removed on nearly 8000 tariffs lines. Only a few sensitive products (tobacco, coffee or animals…) or highly sensitive goods (rice) remain protected.

This region (including intra- Asean) accounted for 2.4% of world trade in 2007 (latest year for which harmonized data are available). Between 2002, when the bilateral process was launched, and 2007, while world trade doubled, trade between China and Asean nearly quadrupled. It has now reached a level comparable to the Japan-Asean trade (figure). More than a market, Asean is an important supplier for China, especially in the electronics sector: 48% of China’s imports from Asean are made of electronic components and computer equipment; 40% of China’s imports of such goods come from Asean.

Following China's 2002 proposal of opening negotiations with Asean, Japan and Korea have launched comparable efforts to institutionalize and deepen a regional integration so far very little formalized and to avoid a potential trade diversion allowed by tariff preferences established between China and Asean (see table for tariff patterns in 2004). Beyond trade in goods, these bilateral negotiations also address difficult issues to tackle at the multilateral level: trade in services, trade facilitation, investment rules, intellectual property...