Rewarding Work

Tan Xingyu

The 15th China-ASEAN Expo （CAEXPO） and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit （CABIS） were held in Nanning， capital of southern Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， from September 12 to 15. Because this year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership， the China-ASEAN Year of Innovation， the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the 40th anniversary of Chinas reform and opening-up policy， the 15th CAEXPO was of particular significance. The four-day event facilitated fruitful outcomes on all fronts.

Increased Influence

At the Nanning International Convention & Exhibition Center， the main venue of CAEXPO， an exhibition showcasing achievements in regional economic and trade cooperation attracted numerous visitors. After a tour of the exhibition on September 11， Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue noted： “Over the last 15 years， ASEAN-China cooperation has become a model for successful and dynamic cooperation in the Asia Pacific region. Thriving cooperation between ASEAN and China in many areas not only benefits both sides but also serves as a positive driver of global economic， trade and investment growth.”

Just like previous editions， this years CAEXPO welcomed attendance from a number of state leaders including Han Zheng， member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council of China， Hun Sen， Prime Minister of Cambodia， Madam Gloria Macapagal Arroyo， Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines， Hor Namhong， Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia， U Myint Swe， First Vice President of Myanmar， Somdy Douangdy， Deputy Prime Minister of Lao PDR， Vuong Dinh Hue， member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam and Seif Ali Iddi， Second Vice President of Zanzibar of the United Republic Tanzania. Also in attendance were 259 ministerial officials including Deputy Secretary-General for the ASEAN Economic Community and heads of delegations from Thailand， Brunei， Singapore， Malaysia， the Philippines and Indonesia. Visiting leaders all expressed hopes to further expand mutually-beneficial economic and trade cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and promote advancement of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership.

Addressing the opening ceremony， Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia， the country of honor at the 15th CAEXPO， stressed： “Since the first CAEXPO and CABIS were launched in Nanning， exchange and collaboration between ASEAN and China in business， investment and other domains have developed rapidly. We should push the event to play a greater role in promoting the ASEAN-China strategic partnership and make significant contributions to accelerating regional economic integration and enhancing political mutual trust.”

“Since China and ASEAN established a strategic partnership 15 years ago， both sides have witnessed a blooming friendship and plentiful fruits of mutually beneficial cooperation，” asserted Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng. “China will work with ASEAN to upgrade the bilateral strategic partnership and build an even closer community with a shared future.”

Fruitful Outcomes

With a total exhibition area of 124，000 square meters， the 15th CAEXPO boasted capacity for 6，600 booths including 1，594 devoted to ASEAN and other countries. Eight ASEAN countries set up respective pavilions and 2，780 companies showcased their products and services. These figures all surpassed those from the previous session. Alongside 91 trade and investment promotion programs， events such as national promotional campaigns and the Roundtable Meeting on Investment Cooperation and Promotion Conference on ASEAN Industrial Parks were also held on sidelines to promote business cooperation and solidify joint projects.

Inspired by the China-ASEAN Year of Innovation， the 15th CAEXPO was themed “Jointly Building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road， Forging the China-ASEAN Community of Innovation.” A diverse range of innovative products were showcased during the event. Major highlights of Chinese booths included new technologies in fields of artificial intelligence， advanced manufacturing， “internet plus，” mass entrepreneurship and innovation， meteorology and environmental protection as well as innovative products in sectors of energy， finance， electronics， building materials， food packaging and engineering machinery. The “internet plus exhibition” model was featured as a new means for promoting industrial development.

“A special display zone and series events related to the Southern Transport Corridor were organized for the first time this year，” revealed Wang Lei， Secretary-General of the CAEXPO Secretariat， at the closing press conference for the 15th CAEXPO. To propel construction of the Southern Transport Corridor （STC） under the China-Singapore Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity， this years CAEXPO specially organized Roundtable Meeting for China-ASEAN International Supply Chain Cooperation， Docking Meeting for STC Agricultural Products Logistics， a seminar between Chinese commercial counselors in ASEAN countries and leaders of provinces along the STC and promotion conferences for Chengdu， Guizhou and other provinces and cities along the STC. These efforts epitomize the contributions of the 15th CAEXPO and CABIS in upgrading the China-ASEAN strategic partnership and boosting cooperation under the Belt and Road framework.

Official data shows that remarkable outcomes were achieved during the event. In terms of the digital economy， the China-ASEAN Information Harbor Forum was held alongside nine parallel forums， while an alliance and fund for the digital economy were established. In terms of agricultural cooperation， in addition to an exhibition for international agricultural cooperation and China-ASEAN Agricultural Cooperation Forum， a report on agricultural cooperation in the region was released. In international production capacity cooperation， a series of events including the Langcang-Mekong Production Capacity Cooperation Forum， China-Myanmar Economic Corridor Forum， a meeting of the Joint Working Group of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation and bilateral meetings were held， and agreements on a group of joint power projects and industrial parks were reached. In financial cooperation， the China-ASEAN Financial Cooperation and Development Leaders Forum was held， and several memorandums on understanding and strategic agreements for cooperation were signed.

Deepening Win-Win Cooperation

In the exhibition space of Tanzania， the Special Partner Country of the 15th CAEXPO， products such as coffee， tea， honey， spices and other African specialties proved popular among both Chinese and ASEAN buyers. Tanzania was the first Belt and Road country to be invited to become a partner of the CAEXPO， signifying a new step forward in CAEXPOs advancement towards expanded regional cooperation.

“Following the successful 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held just a week ago， Tanzania was invited to Nanning for the 15th CAEXPO，” noted Second Vice President of Zanzibar， Tanzania Seif Ali Iddi during a speech at the opening ceremony. “Our gathering here today is clear testimony to a common aspiration shared by all sides to build a closer community of shared future as well as Chinas ‘walk the talk attitude on its commitment to enhancing cooperation with other countries.”

Secretary-General of the CAEXPO Secretariat Wang Lei described the African partners participation as a new breakthrough of CAEXPO to serve the Belt and Road with more extensive cooperation， and he also asserted that it was significant to building a closer China-Africa community of shared future， boosting cooperation among countries along the Maritime Silk Road and elevating Belt and Road construction.

This years expo attracted a total of 114 participating companies from 19 countries outside the region including Tanzania， Australia， Sri Lanka， Pakistan， Germany and Italy， as well as buying delegations representing 70 countries and regions worldwide. A series of business exchange and networking events were presented to promote cooperation with economies outside the China-ASEAN region.

A total of 23 high-level forums in diverse realms under the 15th CAEXPO framework including the 1st Belt and Road Forum on New Economic Belt Development and the 1st Belt and Road Forum for Youth Leaders were held on the sidelines. These sideline events erected platforms for companies to expand trade and investment cooperation， advance connectivity and strengthen international production capacity cooperation.

After 15 years of development， the CAEXPO and CABIS have become important channels for facilitating political mutual trust， economic cooperation and cultural exchange between China and ASEAN member states. As the China-ASEAN strategic partnership becomes increasingly consolidated， the event is poised to usher in a new era of common prosperity for both sides.