China-ASEAN trade topped $1 trillion for first time in 2025, officials say

China and ASEAN are pushing to bring an upgraded free trade agreement into force as bilateral trade continues to break records, officials said at a press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday ahead of the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo later this month.

Bilateral trade between China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations surpassed $1 trillion for the first time in 2025, reaching $1.05 trillion, a 7.4 percent year-on-year increase, according to Vice Minister of Commerce Yan Dong. In the first seven months of 2026, trade surged further to $744.41 billion, up 24.7 percent year-on-year and accounting for 21.8 percent of China's total foreign trade.english.scio+3

China has remained ASEAN's largest trading partner for 17 consecutive years, while ASEAN has been China's top trading partner for six straight years.baocantho+1

FTA 3.0 and the Nanning Expo

The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol, signed in Kuala Lumpur in October 2025, expands cooperation into the digital economy, green development, the blue economy and supply chain connectivity. Yan said China would step up policy support to help businesses tap opportunities created by the upgraded pact and promote its coordinated implementation alongside the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.english.scio+1

The 23rd China-ASEAN Expo, scheduled for Sept. 17 to 21 in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, carries the theme "CAFTA 3.0 Opportunities, Better Life" and is expected to attract more than 2,200 Chinese enterprises and nearly 1,000 ASEAN companies.baocantho

Supply Chain Resilience and New Sectors

With global trade uncertainty rising and supply chain fragmentation risks growing, officials stressed the importance of deeper cooperation. Wang Liping, director-general of the Commerce Ministry's department of Asian affairs, said the two sides would deepen investment in emerging areas including artificial intelligence, big data and green development to make industrial and supply chains more resilient.english.scio

Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times that the growth reflects "a deliberate and pragmatic choice in favor of free trade and economic globalization," adding that a more stable institutional framework "has helped build confidence among businesses and market participants, even as the international trade environment becomes more complex".manilatimes

On the ground, the partnership is already generating concrete results. Modular housing exports supervised by Shatian Customs in Guangdong province rose 730 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2026, with most shipments headed to Southeast Asia for uses including data center construction. By July 2026, cumulative bilateral investment and Chinese engineering contract revenue in ASEAN had each exceeded $515 billion.english.scio+1