The 20th China-ASEAN Expo, now in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, is expected to further enhance cooperation among business leaders from China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The expo will reinforce cooperation brought by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and advance version 3.0 of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, the Ministry of Commerce said in a news conference in Beijing on Friday.
The expo is expected to attract over 1,700 companies from more than 40 countries to participate, with the international exhibition section accounting for over 30 percent of the total exhibition area.
ASEAN exhibition scale has rebounded to the pre-COVID level. The local government of Guangxi Zhuang, the autonomous region of Guangxi, said a group of Fortune Global 500 businesses would participate in the exhibition.
The event focuses on the promotion of high-quality development of the economies involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. topics such as cross-border e-commerce, agriculture and the green economy will be discussed, said Li Fei, vice-minister of commerce.
For 14 years, China has been ASEAN's largest trading partner, and ASEAN became China's top trading partner in 2020, surpassing the European Union. Last year, the trade volume between China and ASEAN rose 11.2 percent year-on-year and surged 120 percent from the level seen in 2013 due to a surge in the value of goods imported by China, the ministry of commerce said in a statement.
China will focus on cooperation with ASEAN on key areas such as the digital economy, green economy, industrial and supply chains, and trade and investment facilitation.
China will fully expand its cooperation with ASEAN, jointly increase the trade scope, strengthen cross-border e-commerce cooperation, and continue to enhance investment cooperation in sectors such as steel, petrochemicals, textiles and auto-motives, Li said.
The expo will be the first to realize digital visualization of all venues for the first time, and will also host an anniversary achievement show to highlight its remarkable accomplishments over the past 20 years.
The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade has continued to promote a deepening relationship between China and ASEAN. In the first half of this year, branches of the CCPIT issued some 96,000 RCEP Certificates of Origin, which will give companies tariff reductions, jumping by 70 percent year-on-year.
We collaborate with ASEAN leaders to visit China, organize Chinese entrepreneurs to visit ASEAN member countries, and promote comprehensive bilateral practical cooperation, said Zhang Shaogang, the vice-chairman of the CCPIT.