BEIJING - Trade between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) grew 4.8 percent year on year to $220.69 billion in the first half of the year, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Tuesday.

Investment between China and ASEAN hit $120 billion at the end of June this year, with $80 billion from ASEAN and $40 billion from China, said Chen Zhou, an official of the MOC, at a press conference.

Among ASEAN members, Singapore has continued to lead in investing in China with $7.2 billion in investment last year, Chen said.

Malaysia became the first among ASEAN members to handle more than $100 billion in trade with China in 2013, as well as the third Asian country to handle more than $100 billion in trade with China annually, after Japan and the Republic of Korea, he said.

Trade between China and ASEAN rose 10.9 percent to $444 billion in 2013, exceeding the 7.6 percent increase in China's total foreign trade.

China is the largest trading partner of ASEAN and ASEAN has emerged as China's third-largest partner, a major investment destination and an important tourist destination.

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