PETALING JAYA, Dec 3 (Sin Chew Daily) — The 2021 China-Asean Online Summit of Used Vehicles and Founding Conference of CABA Automotive Industry Committee is scheduled on January 14 and 15 on www.guoao2020.com.

The online summit is jointly organized by China Shippers' Association, China-Asean Business Association (CABA), Malaysia Guoao Sdn Bhd and Beijing Lingxun Media.

Federation of Motor and Credit Companies Association of Malaysia (FMCCAM) president Tony Khor said this is the first time China and Asean countries have jointly organized an online summit for the professionals in the used car industry. It is a key event organized by industry players in China and Asean to walk the talk since the signing of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to expedite trade activities in the region.

Khor, who is also the proposed committee chairman of China-Asean Automotive Industry Committee hopes that the summit will see the setting up of a transaction system and the criteria for used car industry. The establishment of CABA Automotive Industry Committee will offer consultancy services to the used car sector in China and Asean.

Khor said the committee would be attached to CABA and would comprise representatives from government agencies, automotive organizations, business groups, automotive producers, distributors and dealers in upstream and downstream automotive industries.

Khor said the objective of setting up the committee was to promote trade and investment collaboration in automotive industry within the framework of China-Asean Free Trade Zone.

"The committee will be based in Kuala Lumpur whereby Beijing LingXun Media has been appointed as the secretariat to liaise with government agencies in China, business associations and relevant sectors to develop the committee.

"We will be exploring on the requirements, inspections and establishment of a business transaction system, tracking method and auction procedures for importing used vehicles from China and Asean," he said.

Automotive industry has been booming in the last 15 years, said Khor, adding that demand for vehicles in Asean ranked fifth in the world, with about 4.5 million vehicles sold in the region each year.

In future, demand for vehicles in Asean may cross the ten million mark as the region registering the fastest growth in car sales and one of the most promising automobile markets in the world.

Figures from China show that a total of 14,922,800 used cars changed hands in China last year.

Countries along One Belt One Road may be a potential market for the export of used cars from China.

Khor said the online summit will be the first forum for used car industry between China and Asean after China opened up its used car industry. 

The objective is to set up a used car industry framework between China and Asean for transactions in future.

The opening up of automobile industry in China and Asean after signing of RCEP would help China dispose excess vehicles in the market and create job opportunities in Asean in achieving a win-win situation for all, he added.

Li Xiaoyan, chief of Financial Times in Kuala Lumpur branch who is also in charge of the Asean secretariat, said this is the first international automotive industry committee linking China and Asean. More than ten automotive companies in the region have been invited to attend the online summit while the secretariat is in the midst of contacting automotive associations in Singapore, Thailand, and Cambodia.

"Their counterparts from China will get to meet those from Asean in the online summit," she said.

CABA president Lim Gait Tong said he was looking forward to witness key players in automotive industry in China and Asean to explore the latest updates and policy matters on the industry to offer a pragmatic approach on further developing the car sales business.