ASEAN Member States (AMS), the People’s Republic of China (“China”), Japan and the Republic of Korea (“Korea”) met virtually on 13 September 2021 for the Twenty-Fourth ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Plus Three Consultations. The Consultations were co-chaired by H.E. Dato Dr. Amin Liew Abdullah, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II, Brunei Darussalam, H.E. Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, H.E. Hiroshi Kajiyama, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, and H.E. Dr. Yoonjong Chun, Deputy Minister for Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy of Korea.
The Meeting noted the negative economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on trade and economic cooperation. In 2020, trade between ASEAN and the Plus Three Countries recorded a decrease of 1.7 per cent reaching a total value of USD 875.1 billion. Despite the decrease in trade value, this represented 32.9 per cent of ASEAN’s total trade last year. Meanwhile, total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows from the Plus Three Countries into ASEAN were valued at USD 22.0 billion in 2020, accounting for 16.7 per cent of total FDI inflows into ASEAN.
