NANNING, Guangxi — Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng on Wednesday called for closer cooperation between China and ASEAN as he officially opened the 15th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) at the Nanning International Convention and Exposition Center here.
CAEXPO is expected to further promote ties among the enterprises, industrial sectors and chambers of commerce, as well as trade associations of both sides to new heights.
ASEAN countries include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Some 27,000 companies from 30 countries converged in the “green city” of Nanning in southern China for this year’s edition of CAEXPO, alongside the 15th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (CABIS).
“China would like to push for the Belt and Road Technological Innovation Action Plan with ASEAN countries and build regional transfer technology and cooperation networks. It will promote technology transfer and high-tech personnel training. It aims to provide strong technological and intellectual support for regional development,” Han said.
CAEXPO over the years has become an effective platform for ASEAN products to enter the huge Chinese market.
With “Jointly building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Forging the China-ASEAN Community of Innovation” as theme, the 15th CAEXPO and 15th CABIS are currently hosting a series of exhibitions, forums and various exchange programs on bilateral cooperation in economy, trade, innovation, production capacity and other fields.
Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng said these undertakings aim to lift the all-dimensional friendly cooperation to a new high.
CAEXPO AND CABIS have since promoted trade in goods and services, advanced technology transfer, city-to-city exchanges and sub-regional cooperation between the two sides.
They have also become an accelerator of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement(CAFTA), which was established on January 1, 2010, enabling investors from China and ASEAN to enjoy most favored national treatment and fair and equitable treatment to each other.
China has since implemented zero tariffs on 90 percent of ASEAN commodities and the six original ASEAN member states — Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand — adopted the same preferential policies for China.
China and the 10 ASEAN countries boast of a population of 1.9 billion people and a total GDP of USD6 trillion and a total trade volume of USD4.5 trillion, making it the largest free trade agreement among developing countries.
ASEAN is currently China’s third largest trading partner while China has been ASEAN’s largest trading partner for nine years with bilateral trade exceeding USD200 billion in recent years. (Demetrio Pisco, Jr/PNA)