SHANGHAI, May 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Former President of the Philippines
Fidel V. Ramos dubbed China an emerging engine of economic growth
for southeast Asia at the 35th Annual Meeting of the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) Board of Governors Thursday.
   According to Ramos, trade between China and then six members of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) multiplied from
8.8 billion U.S. dollars in 1993 to more than 32 billion in mid-
2001. China's accession to the WTO should in time make it a large
and new export market for ASEAN.
   Ramos voiced his admiration that no country expanded its
foreign trade as fast as China had in the past 20 years. Between
1980 and 2000, while Japan doubled its foreign trade, China's
foreign trade multiplied five times. Currently, China is already
the world's 7th largest trading economy.
   He said ASEAN plus China will become the world's largest free-
trade area. It will bring together a potential market of some 1.7
billion people, with a combined Gross National Product (GNP) of 1.
7 trillion U.S. dollars and total external trade valued at 1.3
trillion US dollars.
   "ASEAN plus China also offers the possibility of increased
investment from China's multinationals. Given ASEAN's strong
connections with overseas Chinese networks already spread
worldwide, we may expect southeast Asia to be a prime destination
of growing Chinese foreign investment," he said.  Enditem