Guests from all over the world will gather for the appointment in Nanning. The 18th China-ASEAN Expo will kick off in Nanning as scheduled, and here comes the "CAEXPO Moment" again. Though trade in the world is still sluggish, the China-ASEAN Expo will put on a good show. China and ASEAN countries will gather here, centering on building a China-ASEAN community with a shared future, to promote the construction of the "Belt and Road" with high quality, and to accelerate RCEP's entry into force. New cooperation hotspots such as digital economy will be deepened, dialogues and exchanges will be carried out pragmatically, and thus begins a new era of cooperation.
"Upgraded" CAEXPO Expanding Platform Functions
To build an open cooperation platform to ensure the stability and smooth flow of the regional industrial chain and supply chain is one of the important contents of the CAEXPO in assisting China-ASEAN regional economic and trade cooperation. In November 2020, the RCEP led by ASEAN countries was signed. Wang Lei, Secretary General of the CAEXPO Secretariat, said that in order to promote the early entry into force of RCEP and consolidate the regional cooperation framework, CAEXPO will continue to build an "upgraded version" expanding the platform functions from serving "10+1" cooperation to serving RCEP and BRI.
Wang Lei said that activities such as RCEP Economic and Trade Cooperation Business Summit and training seminar on RCEP will be held during CAEXPO, and the International Pavilion for "Belt and Road" will be upgraded and optimized, highlighting the new business opportunities brought by the signing of RCEP, as well as featured industries of RCEP countries. At present, the Pavilion has attracted the participation of more than 20 countries, including Pakistan, South Korea, and Japan.
In terms of building an open cooperation and exchange platform, Achievements Exhibition on Economic and Trade Cooperation in Commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations, Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum Marking the 30th Anniversary of China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations, Commemorative Events Marking the 60th Anniversary of China-Laos Diplomatic Relations, the 30th Anniversary of China-Brunei Diplomatic Relations, and the 70th Anniversary of China-Pakistan Diplomatic Relations will be held concurrently during CAEXPO. Special pavilions/sections are arranged for each ASEAN country, the number of participating leading enterprises in ASEAN has been increasing. Product certification and traceability systems for ASEAN exhibits has been introduced to help build a higher level of strategic partnership. Meanwhile, the 18th CAEXPO will extensively contacts with the China headquarters/offices of official and private institutions from Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, etc. to establish cooperation mechanisms.
In addition, during this CAEXPO, China-ASEAN Production Capacity and Investment Cooperation Forum, China-ASEAN Industrial Chain, Supply Chain and Value Chain Integration and Development Forum, China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone Promotion Conference, and China-Malaysia "Two Countries, Twin Parks" Upgraded Cooperation Promotion Conference will be held to continue to promote the in-depth integration of the China-ASEAN industrial chain, and inject impetus to the joint construction of a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.
New Channel Accelerating Economic and Trade Cooperation
Over the past 17 years, the China-ASEAN Expo has established the "Nanning Channel" to promote deepening of political mutual trust, expanding cooperation areas, and enhancing all-round exchanges between China and ASEAN. In response to the needs of regional development, CAEXPO has upgraded and built the information service platform for the new international land-sea trade corridor and advanced a number of major cooperation mechanisms and projects including the Cold Chain Cargo Trains of Southern Transport Corridor.
At present, China is accelerating the construction of a new development paradigm allowing domestic and international markets to boost each other with the domestic market as the mainstay. The international industrial chain and supply chain plays an important role in it.
The 18th China-ASEAN Expo will highlight cooperation hotspots in China-ASEAN regional industrial chain and supply chain construction, continue to set up exhibition section for new international land-sea trade corridor, increase the participation of key regions, especially the central and southwestern provinces, and participation of state-owned enterprises. The joint construction of Beibu Gulf International Gateway Port will be promoted, the construction of the new western land-sea corridor will be accelerated. The stable and unobstructed flow of the "fast passes" for personnel and "green passes" for goods between China and ASEAN countries will be strengthened to promote the "acceleration" of regional economic and trade cooperation.
Online Platform Expanding "Circle of Friends" for International Cooperation
Currently, how to break the blockade of the epidemic, unblock channels for international economic and trade cooperation, and build a digital economy is undoubtedly one of the important means to break the situation. In order to enhance innovation in science and technology and deepen cooperation on the digital economy, Wang Lei said that this year's China-ASEAN Expo will consolidate the framework of On-line CAEXPO, and will strengthen technological transformation and content updates on the basis of the previous On-line CAEXPO. Live promotion conferences, product launches, and "one-to-one" video matching activities, etc., held during the CAEXPO will strengthen the linkage between offline exhibitions and online activities, the protection capabilities of network security will be strengthened to build a more convenient and efficient economic and trade cooperation platform.
At the 18th China-ASEAN Expo, leaders from China and ASEAN countries will discuss the development opportunities through online gathering; leading enterprises and leading figures in various industries in the region will participate in activities such as "online display", "online conference", "online negotiation", and "online contract signing" to expand the "circle of friends" in trade and investment.
Besides, a series of exchange activities on sci-tech and digital economy are also planned: China-ASEAN Technology Transfer and Innovation Cooperation Conference, Special Exhibition on Advanced Technology, China-ASEAN Digital Silk Road Summit and China-ASEAN Artificial Intelligence Summit, etc. will be held concurrently with CAEXPO to pragmatically accelerate the construction of China-ASEAN Information Harbor and help build the "Digital Silk Road". On-line CAEXPO will be running all the year round. With improved platform operations and personnel training, it will provide China-ASEAN enterprises with year-round online display and economic and trade promotion services to accelerate and inject impetus to the building of mutual trust, mutual benefit, tolerance, innovation, and win-win of China-ASEAN Digital Economy Partnership.
Anti-Epidemic Cooperation Enhanced to Catalyze Economic Recovery
ASEAN is the primary partner of China's anti-epidemic cooperation, and joint efforts to fight against the epidemic is one of the important topics and highlights of this CAEXPO. Focusing on the topic of "enhancing anti-epidemic cooperation and strengthening public health capacity building", the 18th China-ASEAN Expo has innovatively planned health exchange activities with rich content. It is hoped that through the platform, China-ASEAN medical information communication and sharing will be promoted, and the safety level of regional public health will be improved.
The public epidemic prevention and health section will continue to be set up in the 18th CAEXPO, showcasing China's achievements in epidemic prevention and control, as well as business opportunities in the health industry. The international anti-epidemic cooperation oriented for ASEAN will also be promoted. Guangxi Sino-Vietnamese Border Area AIDS Program and Training Course of the Lancang-Mekong Cross Border Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Project will be held, China-ASEAN Human Resources Training Program of Health Silk Road will be aided to implement, International Medical Innovation and Cooperation Forum, promotion conference of International Medical Open Experimental Zone, China-ASEAN Summit for Drug Development and Cooperation and ASEAN-China Traditional Medicine and Health Tourism International Forum will be held to promote the construction of a health community and catalyze the strong recovery of regional economy and trade.
No autumn fruits without spring blossoms, CAEXPO lives up to its efforts. The China-ASEAN Expo will uphold its original aspirations, focus on the hotspots of regional cooperation, and continuously improve its own value as the bridge to upgrade and build an open international exchange platform, and to promote China-ASEAN cooperation to move forward steadily regardless of all difficulties.
