During the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn said in a joint media interview that once the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol takes effect, both sides will seize new opportunities to cultivate fresh growth drivers in digitalization, artificial intelligence, green industries, and renewable energy, achieving greater mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.

He noted that the FTA 3.0 opportunities open new pathways for the two sides to accelerate the building of an integrated market, pursue innovative cooperation, and achieve shared prosperity, pushing their high-quality cooperation into a new stage.

This year is a milestone year for China-ASEAN relations, as the two sides mark the 5th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership and the 35th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue relations.

"Over the past 35 years, ASEAN-China relations have developed steadily, with more than 60 cross-sectoral cooperation mechanisms under the three pillars of political security, economy, and social culture, yielding fruitful results in various fields; over the past five years in particular, ASEAN-China relations have continued to expand, deepen, and consolidate. I believe that driven by the FTA 3.0 opportunities, ASEAN-China economic and trade relations will become even closer, and cooperation areas will continue to expand," Kao Kim Hourn said.

In 2025, China-ASEAN trade volume exceeded 1 trillion US dollars for the first time, reaching 1.05 trillion US dollars, up 7.4% year on year. China has remained ASEAN's largest trading partner for 17 consecutive years, while ASEAN has been China's largest trading partner for 6 consecutive years. In the first eight months of this year, the total trade value between China and ASEAN reached 5.95 trillion yuan, up 20.6% year on year.

"The data confirms the strength of our bilateral relationship. Despite various challenges, we have always moved forward hand in hand," Kao Kim Hourn said. He added that coordination between the ASEAN-China FTA 3.0 and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership should be strengthened to provide greater facilitation for enterprise trade and investment, especially to help micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises participate more effectively in the deep integration of regional industrial and supply chains and gain tangible benefits from the FTA 3.0 opportunities.

Kao Kim Hourn spoke highly of the key role the China-ASEAN Expo has played in promoting trade exchanges, tourism economy, and people-to-people exchanges between ASEAN countries and China. "Today, the expo has become an important platform for ASEAN to expand and deepen cooperation with China, accumulating mutual trust for deeper practical cooperation between the two sides." He expressed hope that the expo will continue to play a key role in translating the opportunities created by FTA 3.0 into stronger business partnerships, broader participation, and new sources of growth, helping ASEAN and China develop and progress together.

The Pinglu Canal has created a shorter, lower-cost, and more convenient waterway linking southwest China with ASEAN. "This is a canal of great historical significance," Kao Kim Hourn said. He believes that since large volumes of goods between ASEAN and China need to be transported through ports, the Pinglu Canal will help reduce logistics costs, enhance transport stability, and strengthen regional economic competitiveness, opening new opportunities for deeper practical cooperation between the two sides.

Currently, ASEAN countries are advancing negotiations on the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement. Kao Kim Hourn said that with the continuous development of the digital economy, digital cooperation is expected to become an important direction for future ASEAN-China cooperation. "The ASEAN-China FTA 3.0 covers digitalization-related content. I hope ASEAN and China will strengthen innovative cooperation and share the dividends of artificial intelligence, benefiting not only the business community but also the people of both sides, and raising the overall level of digitalization in the ASEAN region," Kao Kim Hourn said.