What is the significance of ASEAN’s Free Trade Agreements with China and India?

The Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) between these countries have removed import/export tariffs on 90 percent of all manufactured goods to zero essentially. Therefore, preferential access to ASEAN manufacturing is not solely granted to countries within the ASEAN bloc, but also to both China and India. This is economically advantageous for the collective market of some 3.2 billion people with an estimated 1 billion of those who are expected to achieve middle class consumer standards by 2020. The nature of the agreements with China and India are being expanded upon as ASEAN continues to create FTAs with other nations such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea.