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A customer buys clothes at a market in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, on Jan. 1, 2010. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)
High-tariff items that include automobiles, rice and some petrochemical products are listed as "highly sensitive," thereby allowing both sides to reduce their tariffs below 50 percent by 2015 for original ASEAN members and 2018 for new members.
"China's efforts to establish the FTA aim not only at expanding overseas markets, but also promoting trade and investment liberalization, especially amid the global trade protectionism," said Zhang Monan, an economist with the State Information Center.
China and ASEAN members could cooperate in wider fields, from natural resources to high technologies, she said. "The further economic integration between the two sides could be very competitive in the global economy."
Her comments were echoed by Yang Tianpei, chairman of Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce.
"China wants raw materials while Malaysia needs daily use articles and electric and mechanical products," he said. "The FTA will facilitate trade and reduce the prices."
"The Chinese enterprises can build factories in Malaysia to further reduce costs as well as increase jobs and revenues in Malaysia," he said.
Zhang said the FTA would also facilitate more cross-border yuan trade settlements and currency swap agreements between China and ASEAN members.
The cooperation will help ASEAN members become less dependent on the U.S. dollar, which has become highly volatile as a result of the global financial crisis, she said.
China's Vice Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said earlier the establishment of the FTA will promote the regional economic integration, benefiting companies and consumers.
China and the ASEAN launched their cooperation dialogue in 1991 and signed the China-ASEAN Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Cooperation in 2002.
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