BEIJING, July 19 (Xinhua) — Bilateral trade between China and ASEAN has boomed during the past 25 years, but declines were reported this year because of the febrile global economy, a senior official said Tuesday.

     Bilateral trade between China and ASEAN rose to 472.16 billion U.S. dollars in 2015 from 7.96 billion U.S. dollars in 1991, with an annual growth rate of 18.5 percent, Vice Commerce Minister Gao Yan said at a news conference.

     During the Jan.-May period, bilateral trade fell 7.1 percent year on year to 173.57 billion U.S. dollars.

     The two sides are trying their best to "get bilateral-trade growth back on track as soon as possible", Gao said.

     China currently is ASEAN's biggest trading partner, while ASEAN is China's third biggest.

     By the end of May, two-way investment had exceeded 160 billion U.S. dollars, with ASEAN remaining a major destination for Chinese companies.