The economic growth and integration of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will help make Asia the most dynamic region in the next 20 years, said Singapore's Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong on February 16.

"China-ASEAN-China trade has more than quadrupled since 1997 and could increase by more than 11 times by 2010 when both sides establish their Free Trade Area," Goh said at a business event held here on Wednesday.

Citing China's target of quadrupling its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020, Goh said that there is still much room for China to grow as reforms in the state-owned enterprises, agriculture and the banking sector help improve productivity and the allocation of resources.

On the other side, according to Goh, ASEAN members have already agreed to become an economic community by 2020 with free flow of goods, services and investment, which will boost the region's GDP by 10 percent and cut operational costs by one fifth.

He also estimated that the combined GDP of Asian nations could rise from under a quarter to one-third of the global GDP in the next 20 years.

"Opportunities for enterprise are therefore immense. And I believe they are set to increase, as Asian nations integrate their economies even more deeply," said Goh.

Source: Xinhua