November 13th (Reporters Zou Duo and Li Xiaoting) - ASEAN fruits and vegetables beautify Chinese dining tables. Data released by the General Administration of Customs on November 13th shows that China-ASEAN agricultural and food trade has been fruitful, with bilateral trade in agricultural and food products reaching $51.3 billion in the first ten months of this year, an increase of 8.9%; among these, China's imports of dry and fresh fruit products from ASEAN exceeded $10 billion, accounting for more than two-thirds of global imports.
The 9th China-ASEAN Ministerial Conference on Plant Quarantine, Animal Epidemiology, and Food Safety (SPS) Cooperation was held in Chongqing on the 13th, as learned by reporters at the meeting. As an important platform for both sides to promote agricultural and food trade, China-ASEAN SPS cooperation serves not only as a link connecting markets but also as a bridge enhancing people's livelihood and well-being. General Administration of Customs Director Sun Meijun introduced that ASEAN has maintained its position as China's largest trading partner in agricultural and food products for eight consecutive years and has been the largest export market and second-largest import source for several years. At the 2021 China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations 30th Anniversary Commemorative Summit, it was proposed to strive to import $150 billion worth of high-quality agricultural products from ASEAN within the next five years.
From 2022 to October 2025, China has cumulatively imported $141.2 billion, completing 94% of the target, said Sun Meijun. According to customs statistics, in recent years, economic and trade exchanges between China and ASEAN have maintained a good growth momentum. In the first ten months of this year, the total value of trade in goods between China and ASEAN reached $862.7 billion, an increase of 8.2%. Recently, the upgrade agreement for the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 version was officially signed. The upgrading and optimization of chapters such as SPS measures, customs procedures, and trade facilitation will inject new vitality into bilateral agricultural and food trade.
Sun Meijun stated that China is willing to work with ASEAN countries to fully leverage the role of the SPS cooperation mechanism, taking the implementation of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 upgrade agreement as a key measure to serve the high-quality development of bilateral agricultural and food trade. This will contribute even more to achieving higher levels of mutual benefit and win-win outcomes and building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future. The meeting also announced that the 10th China-ASEAN SPS Cooperation Ministerial Conference will be held in Thailand in 2027.
