Latest Statistics from China’s Customs show in the first two months of 2005, China and ASEAN registered a bilateral trade value of 16.63 billion USD, an increase of 23.6%. ASEAN thus became for the first time China’s fourth largest trading partner. The China-ASEAN FTA is the first FTA initiated by China and is still in the process of negotiations. According to the two sides’ agreement, the FTA will be fully launched on July 1, 2005 with substantial tariff cuts and the goal to bring the tariff level down to zero by 2010. Since 1990, China-ASEAN trading volume has been growing at 20% annually. In 2004, the bilateral trade hit 105.9 billion USD, up 35% compared with the previous year.