BEIJING, July 29 -- Trade and investment between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have grown as mutual political trust has fostered deeper integration, officials said Wednesday.

Trade between China and the ASEAN rose 1.6 percent year on year to reach 224 billion U.S. dollars in the first six months of the year, accounting for 12 percent of China's total foreign trade, said Gao Yan, vice commerce minister.

Gao made the remarks at a press briefing of the 12th China-ASEAN Expo which will be held in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region between Sept. 18 and 21.

Bilateral trade between China and ASEAN reached 480 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 8.23 percent.

China has been ASEAN's largest trading partner since 2009, and ASEAN has been China's third largest since 2010, Gao said.

The China-ASEAN Expo also played an important role, Gao said.