China-ASEAN Relations, April 2009 to September 2009: Chronology of Events

April 2009

7th	Thailand's Director General of Department of Trade Negotiations (DTN) Chutima Boonyapraphatsorn says the Ministry of Commerce will sign two acts under the ASEAN Pharmaceutical Products Examination Act in order to avoid repeated checking, making trade more convenient. Thailand ranked only second to Singapore in the export of pharmaceutical products.
8th	13th ASEAN Finance Ministers' Meeting convenes. Finance ministers from ASEAN agree on the allocation details of a USD120 billion regional reserves pool in which China, Japan and South Korea will make a joint pledge up to 80 per cent. They also agree to set up a regional fund to develop transport infrastructure. ASEAN will seek a contribution from the Asian Development Bank, which has an existing infrastructure development programme. The fund, to be managed by a Special Purpose Vehicle, will also mobilise resources from private firms. The fund supports member countries in transport infrastructure development projects, says Thai Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanich. The size of the fund and lending criteria are subject to further study at the next ministerial meeting in Vietnam next year. Vietnam Government statistics reveal that Sichuan Province shipped USD330 million worth of goods to Vietnam last year, rising 60 per cent from the year before. Sichuan Province's main exports to Vietnam are apparel, steel, bags, semiconductors and electronic products.
10th	ASEAN economic ministers sign "The Sectoral Mutual Recognition Arrangement for Good Manufacturing Practice Inspection of Manufacturers of Medicinal Products" aimed at ensuring the safety, quality, efficacy and lower prices of drugs sold in the region.
11th	Anti-government protests in Thailand cause the summit between ASEAN and China to be postponed to June. The protests also cause the cancellation of a meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Japan, China and South Korea.
12th	Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi meets envoys from ASEAN in Beijing and unveils a multi-billion-dollar package of aid and credit to enhance China-ASEAN cooperation. Over the next three to five years, China plans to offer credit of USD15 billion to ASEAN countries including loans with preferential terms of USD1.7 billion in aid for cooperation projects.
14th	A seminar for trade union leaders from China and ASEAN countries opens. Wang Zhaoguo, member of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and president of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, gives a speech.
29th	The Philippines Peso and New Taiwan Dollar add to ADB's USD10 billion Asian Currency Note Programme (ACNP).

May 2009

1st	ASEAN invites China, Japan and the Republic of Korea to the Health Ministers Meeting scheduled on 7 May to discuss a common regional response against the threat of Influenza A/H1N1.
3rd	Finance ministers from ASEAN+3 finalise an expanded regional scheme of bilateral currency swaps known as the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI). First established in 2000 in response to the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997–8, the CMI is aimed at enabling participating ASEAN+3 countries to draw on one another's foreign reserves in the event of external financing difficulties.
4th	Economic ministers from ASEAN meet in Siem Reap to participate in the Economic Ministers' Retreat to formulate economic strategies to alleviate the worst effects of the global economic crisis in the region with a USD370 billion fund contributed by G20 Nations, China, Japan, South Korea and ASEAN.
6th	The 7th mid-term review of the ASEAN Regional Forum on Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crimes is launched. Representatives from 27 countries including China, Japan, India, Canada, Australia and the European Union participate in the event, which calls for closer cooperation among ASEAN nations and partners to fight against terrorists crimes.
	Malaysia and Vietnam make a joint submission on the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. China protests against the submission.
7th	Health Ministers and senior officials from ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea begin two days of talks to design a coordinated regional response to the threat of a swine flu...