The eighth China International Logistics Week opens in Kunming on May 6. Liu Xiaoqing / for China Daily

Expected to give a strong boost to the local industry, Asia's largest and most influential logistics show kicked off on May 6 in Kunming, the capital of Southwest China's Yunnan province.

The eighth-annual China International Logistics Week, which will continue until May 8, is highlighting ways to further internationalize the sector by sharing the best practices in the industry, according to organizers.

"The event will present unprecedented opportunities for Kunming's logistics industry," said Cheng Siwei, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of National People's Congress.

The city's logistics industry will benefit from the provincial government's strategy as a "gateway" for trade and investment in Southeast Asian and South Asian countries, as well as the central government's Western Development program and the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area that began operation in 2010, he added.

Participants from neighboring countries also deem the event a good opportunity to promote cooperation with Yunnan.

Kate Choomchaiyo, director of Thailand's Office of Trade Logistics, said: "Trade between Thailand and Yunnan grows steadily in recent years, which offers ample space for logistics cooperation."

The China International Transportation and Logistics Expo is a major component of the three-day event.

Covering more than 30,000 square meters, the expo is displaying a large variety of products, technologies and services from globally renowned transportation and logistics businesses.

It has attracted not only individual visitors but also delegation groups from six countries and regions including Thailand, Singapore, and South Korea.

The expo first held in 1995 is the largest and oldest of its kind in China and Asia as a whole. It has previously been held in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Nanjing.

The logistics week also includes a global logistics forum and the China logistics industry awards ceremony.

A seminar on Kunming's gateway strategy and the Pan-Asian logistics summit forum are new highlights of the events.

The host city of Kunming holds a pivotal position in Yunnan's strategy to ship goods to other Asian regions to the south.

Yunnan shares a border more than 4,000 kilometers long with Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar. It also offers the gateway to an overland shortcut to the Indian Ocean.

Kunming, the hub of Yunnan's land and air transportation network, is also a logistics and financial center serving the region's booming cross-border trade.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/07/2012 page11)