Full coverage: G20 Hangzhou Summit

Lao President Bounnhang Vorachith has arrived in Hangzhou. Laos is the ASEAN Chair for 2016. President Bounnhang represents the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations at the G20 summit. It is a region of great potential.

The 10 member states account for nearly one-tenth of the world’s population. Combined ASEAN GDP in 2015 makes of the world’s fifth largest economy, worth nearly U.S.$3 trillion.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of dialogue between China and ASEAN. Bilateral trade between the two sides has boomed in the last quarter century.

From around U.S.$8 billion in 1991, trade reached U.S.$470 billion in 2015. At the end of last year, China and ASEAN sealed a deal to upgrade their free trade deal, covering a wide range of areas, including goods, services, investment and technological cooperation.