CAEXPO's Brand Influence Continues to Improve --Overview of positive results during the 13thCAEXPO

Written by the Editorial Department （China-ASEAN Panorama）

CAEXPO's Brand Influence Continues to Improve --Overview of positive results during the 13thCAEXPO

Written by the Editorial Department （China-ASEAN Panorama）

CAEXPO, which is an international gathering jointly held by China and ASEAN member states, has significantly improved its brand infl uence with each passing day from “Golden Decade” to“Diamond Decade”. In particular, the 13thCAEXPO was highly recognized by not only ASEAN countries but also countries along the routes of the China-led Belt and Road because of the high-profi le opening ceremony, a variety of forums and exhibitors, the scope of its impact, etc.

Cooperation and mutual benefi t

“CAEXPO is not only a platform aimed at both gathering consensus and promoting development, mutual benefi t and win-win outcome, but also it is a vital gateway to deepen cooperation and open up towards the outside world,” said Zhong Shan, China’s International Trade Representative and Vice Minister of Commerce of the P.R.C., who spoke highly of the 13thCAEXPO themed “Jointly Building the 21stCentury Maritime Silk Road and an Even Closer China-ASEAN Community of Common Destiny”. Over the past 13 years, the popularity of CAEXPO has been progressively increasing, responding to the strongest call for cooperation and mutual benefit between China and ASEAN. Under the new circumstances of celebrating the 25thanniversary of China-ASEAN dialogue relations and implementing the Belt and Road Initiative, all activities related to the 13thCAEXPO fully embodied the theme and the call. In particular, all guests of honor attending the opening ceremony were impressed by “Jointly Building; Excelling Cohesively”, which was displayed on the large screen, implying that China and ASEAN countries should make concerted efforts to upgrade international production capacity cooperation from traditional industries to modern ones via approaches of information and intelligence.

Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli noted that China-ASEAN dialogue relations, with an extraordinary course, have made remarkable achievements, demonstrating that bilateral cooperation serves the interests of both peoples and that enhancing cooperation is a sure way to realize common development and to bring real benefi ts to people of the two sides. China and ASEAN have been collectively dedicated to building the 21stCentury Maritime Silk Road, although the road to global economic recovery is rough, with many ups and downs. By virtue of CAEXPO, China and ASEAN have reinforced the consensus and resolve to comprehensively advance the friendly cooperative partnership between the two sides.

Vietnam served as the Country of Honor of the 13thCAEXPO. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said, “Achievements of economic cooperation between ASEAN and China cannot be separated from bilateral economic cooperation mechanism, including CAEXPO and CABIS, both of which have exerted significant influence on the enhancement of ASEAN-China strategic cooperative partnership since 2004. I think the vital role played by China, particularly Guangxi, has been refl ected by both the larger exhibition area and the increased number of ASEANChina exhibitors. Besides, ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, have confidence in the potential, opportunities and prospects of bilateral economic and trade ties.”

A participating customer learning of details related to batiks at the 13thCAEXPO

Increased brand effect

With the 13-year careful cultivation, CAEXPO has evolved into the best platform for the expansion of businessopportunities in the China-ASEAN region. During the 13thCAEXPO, a newly-built exhibition hall was put into use for the first time; however, booths available didn’t meet the demands of enterprises from China and beyond. Statistics show that the number of participating enterprises amounted to 2,669, an increase of 21% over the previous year; the exhibition area for ten ASEAN countries and countries outside the China-ASEAN region rose by 28.6% compared with last year, among which seven ASEAN countries, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, set up their national pavilions, respectively; participating merchants at the 13thCAEXPO reached 65 thousand and purchasing agent groups increased by 4.7% over the previous year.

Moreover, well-known enterprises increased by 10% compared with last year. Many enterprises in the Fortune Global 500, leading enterprises and famous private enterprises engaged in the Expo. In particular, Huawei and Alibaba made their debuts, and they both signed cooperation agreements with their counterparts, respectively. “CAEXPO has made us more aware of the enormous potential of trade’s role in boosting the economic growth of ASEAN countries,” said Jack Ma, Chairman of Alibaba Group.

Furthermore, new exhibitors outside the region, such as Korea, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, UAE, Australia, Egypt and Lebanon, set up their pavilions in the newly-increased international exhibition area, signifying that CAEXPO’s services have extended from the China-ASEAN region to the routes of the Belt and Road. According to the statistics, a total of 65 enterprises from 18 countries and numerous purchasing agents from 51 countries and regions participated in the Expo. “I think CAEXPO is a truly extraordinary gathering for travelling merchants from all over the world,” said Palo Nicolaou, purchasing manager of Italia’s BINLI, “not only are exhibitors hospitable, but also items on display are original.”

Continuous extension of CAEXPO

Activities related to the 13thCAEXPO were reported by 1,434 journalists from 255 news organizations in 18 countries and regions, thus arousing the attention of all relevant parties. In particular, 91 journalists from 70 news organizations in ASEAN countries engaged in the Expo, continuing to keep a record of the number of journalists present at expos held in China. Compared with previous years, more people had access to news reports about the 13thCAEXPO, which is mainly attributed to more effective ways of interaction, including FACEBOOK, WeiChat, Mircoblog, website, and live video. As of September 14, 2016, over 16,700 news reports were published by domestic and foreign media: a variety of state-level media like People’s Daily, Economic Daily, Guangming Daily, and China Daily launched their special issues themed with CAEXPO; CAEXPO’s website and 35 media set up the topic: CAEXPO 2016, and the number of people clicking on related articles exceeded 36 million; users of CAEXPO’s WeChat were more than 21 thousand; users of CAEXPO’s FACEBOOK totaled 53 thousand; and The 25thAnniversary of the Establishment of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations (Special Issue) was published by China-ASEAN Panorama Magazine Agency.

More targeted and effi cient innovative services

“Exhibition halls available during the 13thCAEXPO are more spacious, with more convenient entries and exits,” said then Chinese Ambassador to Thailand Zhang Jiuhuan.

In the newly-increased exhibition hall, supporting facilities like card issuing hall, venue for opening ceremony, news center, customs supervision warehouse, dining room and conference room were available, and the levels of management and services on the site were considerably increased; the qualification of exhibitors continued to be under strict control; more high-quality catering enterprises were introduced to meet the demands of 60 thousand participants at most; security check doors were planned in a reasonable way and the related process was optimized.

In addition, the levels of reception, chartered airlines, translation & interpreting, and voluntary services further improved, offering more appropriate, considerate and personalized services to all travelling merchants present at the Expo.

All these improvements also enhanced the brand effect of CAEXPO. Mr. Zhu Jidong, general manager of Orient International Holding Shanghai Foreign Trade Co., Ltd., said that CAEXPO has evolved into a grand gathering which is mature enough; meanwhile, products from ASEAN countries can be displayed, and friends met at the Expo.