At noon on September 16, the 19th China-ASEAN Expo (hereinafter referred to as the CAEXPO) officially opened to the public.
When the exhibitors entered from the main entrance of the B2 area of the CAEXPO, the first thing they saw was the Chongqing Pavilion. The products made in Chongqing, such as Seris M7, Fengmi T1 laser TV, Xinyuan motorcycle, etc., and Chongqing characteristic agricultural products such as Rongchang Xiabu, Shizhu water chestnut, Jiangjin pepper oil, etc., caught the audience’s eyes at the first time.
The reason why we can enjoy such “treatment” at the CAEXPO is because Chongqing has always attached great importance to the CAEXPO.
Zuo Yang, Director of the Exhibition Office of the Municipal Commission of Commerce, introduced that the CAEXPO has been established for 19 sessions. Every year, Chongqing organizes delegations to participate in the exhibition in Nanning, Guangxi. This year, Chongqing was invited to participate in the China-ASEAN Expo as the “City of Charm”, that is, the province (city) of honor. In terms of exhibition area and number of exhibitors, the Chongqing exhibition hall has reached the highest level in history.
With the help of the China-ASEAN Expo, Chongqing is constantly expanding the ASEAN market.
Build a “bridge” for enterprises to expand the ASEAN market
As soon as the pavilion opened on the 16th, many people gathered around the Chongqing booth. “Can you open the door for this car?” Several audience members asked the staff before the M7, an extended-range new energy vehicle jointly built by Huawei and Celis. The staff immediately opened the car door with the key, and more spectators were attracted to the Chongqing booth. They surrounded the M7 and competed to get on the car.
Liu Liying, head of the import and export business of Celis Group, was unable to come to the site of the China-ASEAN Expo for some reason. When he learned that the M7 was very popular, he said excitedly, “The M7 is a new car that we have launched, and all parties have received good comments. Take it to To participate in the exhibition is to get attention and open up sales in the ASEAN market!”
Fengmi Technology is the first time to participate in the China-ASEAN Expo. Seeing so many visitors paying attention to the Chongqing booth, Zhang Huchuan, the market commissioner of Fengmi Technology, was also very excited. “We just want to show the strength of Chongqing’s intelligent manufacturing.” Zhang Huchuan said that the current market of Fengmi Technology in ASEAN is mainly Thailand and Thailand. Malaysia, they hope to use this exhibition to further expand the ASEAN market.
It is also the first time for Chongqing Fangtong Animal Medicine to participate in the CAEXPO. As an enterprise dedicated to the R&D and production of veterinary drugs, its export volume of veterinary drugs ranks among the top three in the country. “Our current export market is mainly in Africa, and we hope to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar and other countries in the field of animal husbandry through this China-ASEAN Expo,” said Jiang Yan, a staff member of Chongqing Fangtong Animal Pharmaceutical Office.
In recent years, ASEAN has become Chongqing’s largest trading partner. From January to June this year, the import and export between Chongqing and ASEAN totaled 66.29 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.2%; as of June this year, ASEAN had established a total of 567 projects in Chongqing, with a cumulative contractual foreign investment of 8.53 billion US dollars.
Chongqing attaches great importance to ASEAN, and Chongqing enterprises also take a fancy to this market with huge potential. “When we organized the delegation, the companies signed up very actively, which is also an important reason why the scale of Chongqing’s participation in this year’s exhibition has become the largest in history.” Zuo Yang said.
Give full play to the role of the “media” of the new land-sea passage
The reporter found that at the Chongqing booth, there were also many products that were not “made in Chongqing”, such as Ningxia red wine, Lao coffee, and Gansu wolfberry.
It turned out that they were gathered by the “Luhai Youpin” platform. It is understood that the platform was built by Luhai New Channel Operation Co., Ltd. It aims to use the radiation and driving effect of the new Luhai Channel to bring together the featured products in the areas along the line, and then distribute them to various places, and promote the domestic and international dual circulation.
“It’s not so much a ‘land-sea excellent product’ exhibiting at the China-ASEAN Expo as a new land-sea channel participating in the CAEXPO.” Liu Wei, head of the operation organization center of the new western land-sea channel, said that with the continuous advancement of the channel construction, ASEAN countries are also actively participating. to the channel construction. At present, the goods imported and exported from Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand account for 62%, 12% and 6% of the total value of the channel respectively.
He said that by promoting the achievements of the new land-sea corridor to ASEAN and the world through “Land-Sea Premium Products”, it can further play the role of the “media” of the channel, expand the radiation range of the channel, and provide more development opportunities for the provinces, regions and cities along the route.
Feng Jianfeng, founder and chairman of Dalong.com Group, felt the same way.
On the afternoon of the 16th, Dalong.com signed a cooperation agreement with Laos Economic and Trade Group. The two parties will establish Longcheng E-commerce Technology Co., Ltd. in Laos to build a localized service center in Laos. In the next three years, at least 500 million US dollars of trade import and export will be realized, and 5,000 localized cross-border e-commerce talents for Southeast Asian markets such as Laos, Indonesia, and Vietnam will be cultivated within three years.
“If there is no new land-sea channel, this cooperation cannot be achieved.” Feng Jianfeng said that the new land-sea channel will allow Chongqing and the western provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities to have closer economic and trade exchanges with ASEAN. After the opening of the China-Laos Railway, the two major channels are superimposed, and the effect of 1+1>2 has been exerted. In such a platform mainly facing ASEAN, the advantages and significance of the new land-sea channel will be more vividly reflected.
Zuo Yang believes that after the opening of the new land-sea corridor, Chongqing will become the operation and organization center of the corridor, and it is necessary to actively coordinate inter-provincial cooperation, which also promotes the closer relationship between Chongqing and the provinces, regions and cities along the line.
“The reason why Chongqing was invited to be the ‘City of Charm’ in this China-ASEAN Expo is also related to the fact that under the background of the new land-sea corridor, the exchanges between Chongqing and Guangxi are getting closer and closer.” Zuo Yang said that both Chongqing and Guangxi were at the beginning of the opening of the corridor. It is also the inland hub of the channel and an important sea outlet. The cooperation between the two sides at the CAEXPO is actually an extension of the cooperation on the new land-sea corridor.
Seize the opportunity of RCEP and make an active layout
Sharing the new opportunities of RCEP is one of the themes of this year’s CAEXPO, which coincides with the idea of the Chongqing delegation.
On the afternoon of the 16th, the Chongqing delegation held an economic and trade exchange meeting at the CAEXPO site. Zhang Yongwu, director of the Municipal Commission of Commerce, introduced Chongqing to the guests and threw an olive branch to the representatives of ASEAN countries present.
“We originally hoped to use the CAEXPO to expand Chongqing’s ‘RCEP circle of friends’ and continue to deepen cooperation with RCEP member countries.” Zhang Yongwu said, judging from Chongqing’s participation in this CAEXPO, whether it is economic and trade activities Or on-site demonstrations, have basically achieved the expected goals.
Zhang Yongwu also said that actively participating in the CAEXPO is only one of the specific measures for Chongqing to seize the opportunity of RCEP. At present, Chongqing has formulated and issued the “Chongqing Municipal Action Plan for High-quality Implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)”, which clearly states that by 2026, Chongqing’s import and export volume to RCEP member countries will exceed 300 billion yuan. In the next step, Chongqing will have a number of initiatives to promote the realization of the above goals.
“Chongqing has become a model city for China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation.” Xu Ningning, executive director of the China-ASEAN Business Council and chairman of the RCEP Industrial Cooperation Committee, spoke highly of Chongqing. He believed that during the CAEXPO, Chongqing held economic and trade exchange activities, which actually reflected Chongqing’s positive actions in RCEP.
He suggested that in the future, Chongqing should further leverage its own advantages and actively strive for it at the national level, so that the cooperation consensus between more RCEP member states and China will take root in Chongqing. At the same time, Chongqing should make good use of the China-ASEAN cooperation mechanism, strive to settle the China-ASEAN industry cooperation mechanism in Chongqing, and create a commanding height and gathering place for China-ASEAN industries.