Overview of China-ASEAN Expo

Wen Jiabao, former premier of the State Council of China, proposed at the seventh ASEAN-China Summit held in October 2003 that the China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) be held annually in Nanning, Guangxi province, China, from the year 2004 onwards.

The proposal gained positive feedback from the heads of governments of the 10 ASEAN countries, and was written into the Chairman's Statement released afterwards.

CAEXPO co-sponsors: Ministry of Commerce of China Ministries/Department of Commerce/Trade and Industry of the 10 ASEAN Member States ASEAN Secretariat

Objectives: Advancing China-ASEAN FTA construction for shared opportunities of cooperation and development

Defining features: A prominent platform that integrates friendly communication, economic and trade cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges and aims to deepen dialogue and reciprocal cooperation

The CAEXPO has been successfully concluded for nine consecutive years, concurrently with the China-ASEAN Business & Investment Summit (CABIS).

It has built an important platform for friendly exchange, trade, economic promotion and comprehensive cooperation between China and the ASEAN. It has now grown into an influential international grand event in the China-ASEAN FTA.

It sets a good example for China, the ASEAN and other developing countries in their efforts to achieve common development.

-- A platform for China-ASEAN friendly exchanges, driving forward cooperation in trade, commerce and other sectors with its profound influence in political and diplomatic areas

Forty-six heads of state/government of China and the 10 ASEAN member states have personally visited previous CAEXPOs, along with over 1,760 ministerial-level dignitaries of both sides.

During each CAEXPO, meetings between state leaders, ministers and local officials are arranged, effectively enhancing the political mutual trust and the pragmatic commercial cooperation between China and the ASEAN, and also promoting friendly exchange in the fields of culture and education.

The healthy political relations and improved cooperation mechanisms at different levels in different fields have provided reliable political and institutional guarantees for bilateral economic and trade cooperation, in which the CAEXPO plays an important role.

-- A platform for trade promotion, to enhance bilateral political mutual trust and friendly exchanges through rich economic and trade outcomes

The exhibition contents of the CAEXPO center on the CAFTA construction progress and the different economic development levels, resource endowments, industrial mixes, features of industrial sectors of China and the 10 ASEAN countries.

It pools information of businesses, commodities, projects and capital of both sides. It translates the CAFTA investment and trade facilitation policies from government paperwork into tangible benefits for business circles.

It has become an accelerator of the CAFTA construction.

Facts of the previous nine CAEXPOs:

Number of exhibitors and trade visitors: 368,000 Total trade volume: $13.57 billion Contractual investment volume of international projects: $57.38 billion Contractual investment volume of Chinese domestic cooperation projects: 556.11 billion yuan ($90.52 billion)

The CAEXPO has effectively promoted business matching among enterprises, industrial sectors and chambers of commerce/trade associations of both sides, facilitating regular bilateral trade and investment and advancing bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

In 2004, when the first CAEXPO was held, the bilateral trade volume fulfilled the goal of $100 billion one year ahead of schedule. In 2007, the goal of $200 billion was realized three years ahead of schedule. In 2013, the bilateral trade volume stood at $443.6 billion, hitting a record new high. By the end of 2013, the accumulative volume of two-way investment reached $110 billion.

The CAEXPO has effectively promoted trade in goods, investment cooperation, trade in services, city-to-city exchanges, industrial connection and sub-regional cooperation of the two sides.

The CAEXPO has demonstrated the win-win results produced by the CAFTA construction, upgrading China-ASEAN strategic partnership to a new high.

-- A platform for multi-sector cooperation, providing institutional guarantees for China and the ASEAN to cooperate in economics, trade and other fields, and to have people-to-people exchanges

With the fast growing China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation, both sides have raised new expectations and demands on supporting services, including customs, inspection and quarantine, finance, ports and logistics.

The two sides also hope to encourage closer people-to-people exchanges in fields of culture, education and sports via enhanced economic and trade cooperation. To this end, over 260 high-end forums and relevant programs were held concurrently with the previous nine CAEXPOs, pulling in government officials, entrepreneurs, experts and scholars for dialogues and exchange programs.

These programs studied and provided feasible solutions for relevant issues in different fields, which have formed a series of cooperation mechanisms, thus providing institutional guarantees for the people-to-people exchanges and cooperation in trade and other fields.

During each CAEXPO, splendid cultural and sports programs, including the Nanning International Arts Festival of Folk Songs, are also held to fuel China-ASEAN friendly exchanges.

-- A bridge for China and the ASEAN as a whole to cooperate with other economies in the world, enhancing the influence of the China-ASEAN region in the international arena

The CAEXPO is not only a platform for China-ASEAN cooperation, but also a grand trade event open to the whole world.

Leaders of international organizations like the World Bank, the UN Conference on Trade and Development, and the UN Industrial Development Organization were attracted to the previous CAEXPOs.Sourcing companies from countries and regions outside the China-ASEAN region were invited to each CAEXPO.

The Asia-Europe Meeting Roundtable Meeting on Investment Cooperation and other cross-continental promotion programs are arranged during the CAEXPO. The CAEXPO has promoted the exchanges and cooperation of China and the ASEAN with other economies, and enhanced the influence of China and the ASEAN as a whole in the world, providing a springboard to the huge world market and abundant business opportunities beyond the China-ASEAN region.