In recent years, economic and trade ties between Fujian and ASEAN member countries have strengthened significantly, deepening regional industrial collaboration and driving economic growth.

According to Xiamen Customs, in the first three quarters of this year, the total value of trade between Fujian and ASEAN reached 329.3 billion yuan ($46.2 billion), a 10.2-percent year-on-year increase. This growth outpaced the province's overall rate by 7.5 percentage points, setting a new record for this period.

In terms of scale, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam stand out as Fujian's top three trade partners, collectively contributing 61.7 percent of the province's total trade with ASEAN. Noteworthy growth rates were observed in trade with Laos, Singapore, and Cambodia, which surged by 195 percent, 116 percent, and 37.6 percent, respectively.

Private enterprises are driving this dynamic, with trade between Fujian's private sector and ASEAN hitting 216.6 billion yuan in the first three quarters of the year, a 19.5-percent increase. This constitutes 65.8 percent of Fujian's total trade with ASEAN, up by 5.1 percentage points from the previous year. State-owned enterprises recorded over 70.1 billion yuan in trade, while foreign-invested enterprises exceeded 42.5 billion yuan.

Fujian's trade with ASEAN continues to thrive on robust export performance. In the first three quarters, the province exported 74.6 billion yuan worth of electromechanical products to ASEAN, a 19.5-percent increase, and 63.3 billion yuan worth of labor-intensive products a 16.7-percent rise. Together, these categories drove a 7.1-percentage-point growth in Fujian's overall trade with ASEAN.

Notable export sectors include the traditional export advantage products (mobile phones, automatic data processing equipment, household appliances), cultural products, and plastic goods, with impressive growth rates of 105.4 percent, 93.9 percent, and 59.3 percent, respectively.