Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 29. Title: Looking forward to the 19th China-ASEAN Expo: Sharing the New Opportunities of RCEP and Adding New Momentum to China-ASEAN Cooperation
Xinhua News Agency reporters Xie Xiyao and Zhu Lili
The 19th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, with the same theme as “Sharing New Opportunities of RCEP and Boosting China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0”, will be held in Nanning, Guangxi from September 16th to 19th. What will be the difference between this year’s CAEXPO and the summit? At the press conference held by the State Council Information Office on the 29th, officials from the Ministry of Commerce, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region introduced the relevant situation.
Conspiracy to “new opportunities”: the exhibition area has returned to the level before the epidemic
This year is the first year of the China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the first year of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) coming into force, and the construction of the 3.0 version of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area is about to start.
Zhang Shaogang, vice-chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said that under this background, the success of this year’s China-ASEAN Expo and Summit will be important for further strengthening and enhancing the pragmatic cooperation between the business circles of China and ASEAN under the new situation, and forging a closer China-ASEAN community of shared future. will play a positive role in promoting.
Cai Lixin, Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Executive Vice Chairman of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, introduced through a video that the enthusiasm of enterprises to participate in the exhibition is high under the new opportunities. At present, the exhibition of the China-ASEAN Expo has been completed, with a total exhibition area of 102,000 square meters, of which the foreign exhibition area accounts for about 30%. pre-pandemic levels.
Presenting “new features”: increasing internationalization
“The China-ASEAN Expo will run online throughout the year, the China-ASEAN Economic and Trade Center will be officially operated, and the China-ASEAN Special Commodities Convergence Center will be inaugurated during the expo, providing exhibits for sale and normalized display, creating a never-ending China-ASEAN Expo. ” Cai Lixin said.
The continuous expansion of new partners and the rising internationalization of the exhibition are a major feature of this year’s CAEXPO. According to Cai Lixin, it is the first time that Vietnam has reserved a pavilion, and the demand and scale of exhibition booths in Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and the Philippines have increased significantly. There are 29 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) and 5 cities under separate state planning in China, as well as Hong Kong and Macau.
In the context of the implementation of RCEP, the current CAEXPO and summit will highlight the focus and characteristics of China-ASEAN cooperation and expand cooperation with RCEP countries such as Japan and South Korea.
According to reports, South Korea will serve as the specially invited partner of this year, setting up the South Korean National Pavilion for the first time, and holding the “Korean Enterprise Guangxi Tour” for the first time. During the conference, the “Japanese Enterprises Tour in Guangxi” will continue to be held. In addition, companies from 17 countries including France have participated in the “Belt and Road” exhibition area, and 22 provinces and cities from 18 countries including Italy have participated in the exhibition of “Guangxi International Friendship Cities Entering the East Expo”.
Launch of ‘new initiatives’: many ‘firsts’ to be unveiled
It is the first time to set up ASEAN and RCEP boutique exhibition areas, the first time to hold ministerial-level high-level forums in five fields including the construction industry, and the first time to set up an exhibition area for Guangxi to fully connect with the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. action.
Talking about further deepening economic and trade cooperation with ASEAN, Assistant Minister of Commerce Li Fei said that he will continue to implement RCEP with high quality, promote the construction of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0; investment; support ASEAN countries to expand exports of high-quality products to China, support powerful Chinese enterprises to invest in ASEAN; further promote the integrated development of regional industrial chains and supply chains.
Cai Lixin said that the establishment of the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership will be an opportunity to conduct in-depth discussions on the construction of the 3.0 version of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. At that time, a number of cooperation initiatives and research reports will be released, a number of cooperation mechanisms will be launched, a number of cooperation projects will be signed, and the “Nanning Channel” will be further expanded.