Publication

This article discusses the five free trade agreements concluded by ASEAN which came into effect on 1 January 2010. It contends that the most important of these is the ASEAN–China agreement, one of the world's largest free trade zones. The liberalization of trade between ASEAN and China should lead to the growth of trade and of China’s investment in the region; on the other hand, in some ASEAN members there are concerns about the adverse effects of an upsurge of imports from China.