China's imports from ASEAN up 44.8% in 2010

BEIJING -- China's imports from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) rose 44.8 percent to $154.56 billion in 2010, said the General Administration of Customs on Thursday.

Since the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area at the beginning of 2010, bilateral trade had risen 37.5 percent year on year to $292.78 billion, the customs said.

ASEAN is China's fourth largest trading partner, after the European Union, the United States and Japan.

Mechanical and electrical products accounted for 53.7 percent of all imports.

In 2010, China's exports to ASEAN were up 30.1 percent from a year earlier to $138.22 billion. China's trade deficit with ASEAN saw a 30.7-fold increase to $16.34 billion.