Premier Wen Jiabao (second from right) on an inspection tour of the third China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) last year Liu Yu

Jointly sponsored by China, the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the ASEAN Secretariat and organized by the Guangxi government, the annual trade and investment promotional exposition provides an effective platform for economic cooperation in the region, seeking to advance construction of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) and deepen development of strategic partnership between the two sides.

The premium expo has attracted more than 1,900 companies as exhibitors this year, chinanews.com quoted Commerce Ministry spokesperson Wang Xinpei as saying.

Among them, 677 ASEAN exhibitors have taken up 1,128 booths, an increase of 35 percent from last year and accounting for about 33 percent of the total exhibition stands.

Vietnam and Malaysia each continue to reserve an entire exhibition hall as they did last year. Three other countries - Thailand, Indonesia and Myanmar - have also joined their ranks this year.

While ASEAN exhibits focus on electrical appliances, household items, food, furniture, jewelry, handicrafts, palm oil products and minerals, Chinese exhibitors mainly represent such sectors as engineering machines and equipment, food processing and packing machines, power facilities, auto parts and construction materials.

About 200,000 purchasers are expected to visit CAEXPO this year, organizers said.

Highlights

The highlight of this year's expo is the debut of "partner country" activities.

From 2007 onward, one or two ASEAN countries will be designated as partner country of the expo each year, according to the organizing committee.

The partner country, as the focus of the event, will enjoy priorities in the use of exhibition facilities when it launches a series of activities to showcase its business opportunities and cultural charm.

Brunei has assumed the role of partner country this year. A 150-member Bruneian delegation, headed by Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah, is participating in the expo and presenting their country to visitors.

The delegation includes governmental officials and company representatives.

The crown prince of Brunei will also attend the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, an event held concurrently with the China-ASEAN Expo.

Meanwhile, nine high-level international forums and ministerial meetings will also be held during the expo.

Among these, the port development and cooperation forum, with a focus on strengthening regional collaboration and promoting mutual development, echoes the theme of this year's expo - port cooperation.

Communication ministers of the 11 participating countries will join executive officials of port cities and shipping entrepreneurs in attending the forum.

From this year on, the expo will focus on a main theme each year for the promotion of intensive cooperation.

The Nanning International Folk Songs Festival is also held during the expo.

The musical gala is not only expected to impress expo participants with the lovely melodies of local singers, but also to attract a great number of tourists to experience the unique cultures of diverse ethnic groups.

Background

Established in 2004, the China-ASEAN Expo has so far witnessed three sessions, all of which have been very successful.

Statistics show that the event has offered a total of 9,468 exhibition booths and attracted 82,000 participants in its three years of existence.

Total trade volume touched $3.5 billion and the contract value of international economic cooperative projects signed during the expo in the past three years was $16.11 billion.

Trade is booming, especially in the six sectors of food processing and packing machines and equipment, power facilities, construction materials, wooden furniture, farm products and light industry.

As the only expo jointly sponsored by Chinese and ASEAN governments for promotion of CAFTA construction, the China-ASEAN Expo is highly valued not only as a fruitful business event but also an important multilateral campaign by the countries involved.

In the past three years, 18 state leaders and more than 500 ministerial-level officials have taken part in the event.

During the third China-ASEAN Expo last year, the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit and the commemorative summit marking the 15th anniversary of establishing China-ASEAN dialogue relations coincided, and all 11 state heads were present to mark the occasion.

(China Daily 10/29/2007 page6)