Asian trade deals on track; China defends products

MANILA, Aug 26 (Reuters) Southeast Asia will have completed free trade agreements with all major countries in the region within the next five years, ahead of forming its own EU-style economic community in 2015, the bloc said on Sunday.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is also negotiating with the European Union on a free trade agreement, but no deadlines have been set, ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong told reporters after a two-day meeting in Manila.

Trade deals with China, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea should be in place by 2012, he said. All six dialogue partners were also represented at the meeting.

''This will tie in with our leaders' decision to have the ASEAN community established by 2015,'' Ong said.

No more deals are under consideration, although ASEAN is also exploring the feasibility of a trade agreement with Pakistan, he added.

''The ministers agreed that the current obligations we have are a heavy burden,'' he said. ''The emphasis is on completing what we already have as soon as possible.'' CHINA DEFENDS EXPORTS Earlier on Sunday, China again defended itself against charges of substandard exports, saying the vast majority of its products were of good quality, but it would crack down on the tiny fraction of goods not up to standard.

''The pass rate, or the qualified rate, of Chinese products exported to the United States or Japan are all above 99 percent,'' Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai told reporters.

''In the past 29 years, the annual growth rate of Chinese exports is 17 percent and this itself shows the high degree of recognition by other countries of China's product quality,'' he added.

''However, even if only 0.1 percent of products are problematic, we will take it very seriously.'' Bo did not elaborate, but he has previously said Beijing has set goals for the end of 2007 to inspect all suppliers of raw materials for export manufacturers and monitor all agricultural wholesale markets.

The world's largest toymaker, Mattel, last week recalled over 18 million Chinese-made toys because of hazards from small magnets that can cause injury if swallowed, just two weeks after it recalled 1.5 million toys due to fears over lead paint.

Other Chinese export scares have hit toothpaste, animal food ingredients, tyres, eels and seafood. Deadly chemicals have found their way into cough medicine, killing patients in Panama.

A joint statement from China and the 10-member ASEAN said product quality and food safety ''were common challenges faced by every country''.

It said each country should ensure its relevant agencies dealt with the issue ''with the view to protecting the safety and health of consumers while not impeding bilateral trade and economic cooperation.'' China is Southeast Asia's largest trading partner after the United States, the European Union and Japan. Two-way trade in 2005 amounted to 3 billion while Chinese direct investment in the region reached 6.9 million in 2006.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

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