'The two sides should continue to step up dialogue on investment policies and work for an early conclusion of talks on a China-Asean free trade area investment agreement,' Chinese Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan said in his keynote speech at the opening of the Fourth China-Asean Business and Investment Summit in Nanning.

Asean and Chinese officials and businessmen have gathered in Nanning, the provincial capital of south-western China's Guangxi region, for the four-day China-Asean expo, which began yesterday.

Although Mr Zeng did not specify a timeframe, China is expected to have free trade pacts with Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines by 2010.

Agreements with Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar are expected by 2015.

Trade between China and its southern neighbours almost doubled to US$160 billion (S$232 billion) last year, after a China-Asean Free Trade Area (Cafta) was proposed in 2002, said Mr Zeng.

This is expected to rise to US$190 billion this year, and hit 2010's target of US$200 billion by next year.

'China and Asean should prioritise key projects and create a sound platform for industries and SMEs (small- and medium-sized enterprises) to cooperate together,' said Mr Zeng, referring to sectors such as transportation, tourism and industrial infrastructure.

Goods from Asean countries sold in China already enjoy tariff reductions from almost 10 per cent a few years ago to 5.8 per cent now, the Vice-Premier said.

This is expected to drop to 2.4 per cent by 2009, with 93 per cent of Asean products expected to be tariff-free by the time Cafta is established.

Guangxi officials have spared no effort to make the China-Asean expo a success.

The city authorities have even mobilised English teachers and students to help provide translation and interpretation for foreign guests and journalists.

Guangxi, which shares both land and sea borders with Asean members, is keen to woo investments from South-east Asia as it seeks to compete with more developed provinces such as Guangdong and Fujian.

The expo's theme this year is port development, which hints at the Guangxi government's efforts to promote the Beibu Gulf economic hub - an area around the South China Sea which China hopes to develop and thus deepen ties with its Asean neighbours.

During her visit to the expo, Singapore Minister of State for Finance and Transport Lim Hwee Hua welcomed the opportunities to develop along with China.

She said yesterday that China's growth in the maritime industry will not nudge out Singapore's position as a shipping hub.

Singapore's businesses, she said, can contribute to development through infrastructure design, implementation and project management.

'It is complementary rather than competitive,' she told the media, referring to China's breakneck pace of development.

'Singapore can give good value-added services, while China's growth is a great catalyst for our own growth.'

Mr Yuen Heng Mun, chief planning officer at Jurong Consultants, noted that while Singapore companies can bring to the table ideas from a valued global perspective, they must be careful not to be complacent.

'Many new Chinese leaders have been sent abroad, and the expectations now are no longer the same as five years ago,' said Mr Yuen, one of the delegates from the Singapore Business Federation at the expo.

'We cannot tell them anymore that our success was built on such-and-such a way and they must follow us. We must constantly upgrade.'

vincec@sph.com.sg