Harmony and symbiosis embark on a new journey
The 20th China ASEAN Expo was held in Nanning, Guangxi from September 16th to 19th. The theme of this year's East China Expo is "building a home together, destiny and future together - promoting high-quality development of the the Belt and Road and building an economic growth center". At the same time, there is also the 20th China ASEAN Business and Investment Summit.
After 20 years, the East China Expo and summit have become important open cooperation platforms between China and ASEAN, playing a positive role in promoting regional economic integration. Now, 11 countries are working hand in hand and heading towards the future, accelerating the construction of a closer China ASEAN community with a shared future. The cooperation between the two sides will inject more positive energy into world and regional peace, stability, development, and prosperity.
The construction of service free trade zones has achieved fruitful results
The East China Expo is an important carrier for serving the high-quality construction of the China ASEAN Free Trade Area. Data shows that the bilateral trade volume between China and ASEAN has increased from over 100 billion US dollars in 2004 to 975.34 billion US dollars in 2022. China has maintained ASEAN's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years, and ASEAN has become China's largest trading partner for 3 consecutive years. As of July this year, the cumulative two-way investment between China and ASEAN countries has exceeded 380 billion US dollars, and more than 6500 direct investment enterprises have been established in ASEAN. China and ASEAN are important sources and destinations of investment for each other. Both sides have jointly built a demonstration park for economic and trade innovation and development based on the "Two Countries, Two Parks" initiative, opening up a new channel for ASEAN countries to integrate into China's local open development.
"The China ASEAN Expo vigorously promotes the construction of free trade zones such as the China ASEAN Free Trade Area and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, opening up broader space for regional economic and trade cooperation, accelerating the process of regional economic integration, and injecting strong impetus into regional prosperity and stability.".
On the noon of September 14th, Laotian businessman Zhan Ping arrived in Nanning by charter flight, becoming one of the first foreign merchants to enter from the Nanning port to participate in the East China Expo. After more than a year of investigation and negotiation, she will represent the company to sign a photovoltaic new energy cooperation agreement with the partner.
At this year's East China Expo, Guangxi Liugong Machinery Co., Ltd. exhibited a full range of engineering machinery products, including agricultural machinery and construction machinery, focusing on the theme of "green intelligence" and showcasing some new products with more technological content. "Since participating in the East China International Fair, we have developed local partners in ten ASEAN countries. The annual sales revenue of our products in the ASEAN market has grown from more than 10 million yuan 20 years ago to 2 billion yuan now. We have also participated in the construction of major projects such as the China Laos Railway, the China Thailand Railway, the Yawan Railway, the Madong Railway, etc." said Li Dongchun, senior director of the international business group of Guangxi Liugong Machinery Co., Ltd.
Since its establishment, the summit held concurrently with the East China Expo has been attended by multiple leaders of China and ASEAN countries, as well as over 1000 government and business leaders. Over 200 economic and trade activities have been held, with over 10000 representatives from participating enterprises. It has become the highest level, largest scale, and most influential international economic and trade event between China and ASEAN.
"After a" golden decade "and a" diamond decade ", the East China Expo and the Summit are ushering in a new future of" diamond inlaying and crowning ", becoming a practical platform to promote regional economic integration, forming a" Nanning Channel "for China ASEAN open cooperation, and also a bright card for the opening and development of Guangxi, which has made positive contributions to serving the country's diplomatic strategy around the country and helping the construction of the" the Belt and Road "." Sui Guohua, Vice President of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said.
Injecting new momentum into emerging fields
At the Advanced Technology Exhibition of the East China Expo, visitors can see advanced technologies and application cases from different fields, gain a deeper understanding of development trends and cutting-edge developments, such as new terminal mobile phones, the "Struggler" deep-sea manned submersible, and the "Unmanned Cabled Underwater Robot".
As one of the five major themes of the East China Expo, the Advanced Technology Exhibition Area showcases new achievements in the field of advanced technology and scientific and technological innovation cooperation between China and ASEAN countries every year. It continuously launches various "black technology" and "hardcore" products, becoming a window for all parties to understand technological development, conduct cooperation and exchange, seek technological cooperation, and obtain new business opportunities.
Nearly 2000 enterprises participated in this year's expo, an increase of 18.2% compared to the previous one. A smart equipment, digital technology, advanced technology, green building materials, and smart home exhibition area was established to showcase green and low-carbon technologies and applications, promote regional green development, strengthen scientific and technological innovation cooperation with ASEAN countries, seize new opportunities for change, and create new competitive advantages.
The CAEXPO also carried out special exhibitions and promotions such as RCEP and the "the Belt and Road", and for the first time held special events such as the "Year of Investment in China - Entering Guangxi", the Central Enterprise Brand Day, and the China ASEAN Industrial Design Week. A total of more than 70 economic and trade activities were held, and well-known entrepreneurs at home and abroad were invited to discuss cooperation and sign a number of projects in energy, new materials and other fields.
At this year's East China Expo, the central enterprise exhibition area focused on showcasing product models such as 80000 ton forging press, domestically produced largest diameter shield tunneling machine, drilling and blasting tunnel construction equipment, as well as digital communication new energy comprehensive solutions and "one-stop" logistics supply chain online solution platforms, highlighting the core competitiveness and brand influence of central enterprises in the global high-end equipment manufacturing field.
"We have participated in the East China International Fair since 2020. With the help of the East China International Fair, we have successfully launched our corporate brand, entered the Southeast Asian market, and participated in the construction of the 'the Belt and Road'. We hope that with the help of the East China International Fair, we can undertake more projects from ASEAN countries, and make contributions to promoting free trade between the two sides and boosting regional economic development." Liu Qicai, secretary of the Party Committee and general manager of Guangxi Construction Co., Ltd. of China Construction Fifth Engineering Bureau, said.
This year's East China Expo will also hold 19 high-level forums around hot topics such as e-commerce, environmental protection, and blue economy, deepening development cooperation between China and ASEAN countries in sustainable and low-carbon areas, and jointly promoting innovation in the construction mechanism of the "Five Homes" and solidification of achievements. Relying on the "Thousand Enterprise Development" online exhibition platform, we will continue to host the Cloud based East Expo, achieving the first digital visualization of physical exhibition halls, and creating an "never-ending East Expo".
Vice Minister of Commerce Li Fei stated that this year's East China Expo focuses on the forefront of economic and trade, as well as issues of concern to the business communities of both sides. The forums held involve many emerging fields such as digital economy, green economy, and supply chain connectivity, which are highly aligned with the key areas of the China ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 negotiations. This is conducive to enhancing mutual understanding and recognition between China and ASEAN in emerging fields, listening to the demands and suggestions of the business community, and injecting new momentum into the construction of China ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0.
Forming a new pattern of regional cooperation and development
The effective implementation of RCEP provides new opportunities for trade and investment cooperation between China and ASEAN. China and ASEAN are committed to improving the level of openness in the economic and trade fields, expanding mutually beneficial cooperation in emerging fields such as digital economy, green economy, and supply chain connectivity. Based on the new starting point of cooperation between China and ASEAN, the East China Expo will comprehensively upgrade its high-level dialogue mechanism, economic and trade effectiveness, the Nanning channel, and the never-ending cooperation platform. Officials, industry, and academia representatives from various countries in the region will be organized to discuss the key areas of RCEP implementation.
Focusing on the multilateral and bilateral cooperation mechanisms such as the Free Trade Zone 3.0, RCEP, and the "the Belt and Road", this year's East China Expo will continue to hold the third RCEP Summit Forum and other institutional activities, and issue the blue book "Business Opportunities Outlook for the China ASEAN Free Trade Zone 3.0" to help regional enterprises better grasp the new rules of trade and economic cooperation and better share the new dividends of high-quality implementation of RCEP.
In addition, the East China Expo also focuses on high-level open cooperation and holds the first themed side meeting on "Institutional Openness: A New Pattern of Regional Economic Development". It has conducted in-depth discussions and exchanges on steadily expanding institutional openness such as rules, regulations, management, and standards within the region, promoting the formation of a new pattern of regional development.
Standing at a new starting point of the 20th anniversary, Guangxi, the permanent host of the East China Expo, focuses on institutional and high-level openness, promoting the upgrading and development of the East China Expo and its summit, and striving to make greater breakthroughs in serving and integrating into the new development pattern.
A first-class business environment is an important guarantee for enterprises to participate in open cooperation. "The tax authorities in Guangxi will actively serve China ASEAN open cooperation and launch more distinctive tax service measures," said Liu Hu, Director of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Tax Bureau of the State Administration of Taxation.
Shen Wei, Vice President of Agricultural Bank of China Guangxi Branch, believes that financial institutions should actively adapt to the development trend of new trade formats, continuously develop new formats and models of financial services, actively assist in the development of cross-border finance, and provide comprehensive services for the construction of a financial opening portal facing ASEAN.
In order to better serve the opening up and development of the region, Guangxi is promoting the construction of the Pinglu Canal, a key project of the new channel, with high standards and quality. This will promote the deep integration of transportation, logistics, commerce, and industry along the route, comprehensively improve the infrastructure level of the new international land and sea trade channel, as well as the modernization level of the Beibu Gulf International Gateway Port. At the same time, we will accelerate the construction of smart ports along the China Vietnam border, and accelerate the formation of the shortest time, best service, highest efficiency, and best price new international land and sea trade channel between China and ASEAN.
