On November 30, the 17th China-ASEAN Expo was closed. On that day, it was the public open day, and many citizens bought foreign characteristic products at the exhibition.
From November 27th to 30th, the 17th China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (hereinafter referred to as the “Eastern Expo” and “Summit”) were held in Nanning, Guangxi Province, with the theme of “Building the Belt and Road Initiative” and jointly revitalize the digital economy together. Inside and outside the venue, online and offline, docking promotion, negotiation and signing, exhibitors are full of sense of gain, full of confidence in expanding cooperation.
“Promoting the accurate docking of Chinese and foreign merchants to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results”
Indonesian coffee, Lao furniture, Pakistani handmade carpets… In the venue of the East China Expo, products from all over the world are dazzling, and there is a continuous stream of merchants.
In the exhibition area of ASEAN countries, Malaysian businessman Cai Quan is inviting customers to taste coffee. Cai Quan’s company mainly engages in the processing and export of Malaysian coffee and other products, which is his seventh consecutive year of participation in the East China Expo.” In the face of the severe test of the epidemic, it is very rare to hold such an international exhibition. Cai Quan said that during the exhibition, he received many customers who bought products and consulted agents.
Carlos, a Cameroonian buyer, is very satisfied with this trip. He not only ordered the product he wanted, but also learned about many new products and technologies through the exhibition, and planned new production plans. The East Expo is an open and cooperative platform where you can learn about new information, exchange new needs, and promote trade docking.
After 17 years of cultivation, the East China Expo has continuously innovated its forms, the exhibits are becoming more and more diverse, and the fields of the exhibition industry are more extensive. From food and beverages, agricultural products, etc. to investment services, high-tech products and other fields, China-ASEAN cooperation has continuously improved and upgraded its quality. He Hongqin, a Fujian businessman who has participated in the exhibition for many consecutive years, said that domestic manufacturers can provide products and services for the local market according to foreign demand. “The East Expo promotes the accurate connection of Chinese and foreign merchants to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.”
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the full-scale completion of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. Over the past decade, China and ASEAN have made new achievements in economic and trade cooperation, with bilateral trade volume increasing from 292.8 billion US dollars in 2010 to 641.5 billion US dollars in 2019. In the first 10 months of this year, the volume of China-ASEAN trade increased by 7% against the trend, achieving a historic breakthrough that the two sides were the largest trading partners of each other, which fully reflected the resilience and vitality of bilateral economic and trade relations. The East China-ASEAN cooperation is mutually beneficial, open and inclusive with fruitful results, and has made positive contributions to the activation of regional and world economic recovery.
“Strengthening digital economy cooperation will benefit more small and medium-sized enterprises”
This year is the year of China-ASEAN Digital Economic Cooperation. The development of digital economy has become a new growth point for China and ASEAN countries to deepen interconnection and cooperation. This year’s East Expo was held online and offline for the first time. More than 1,600 Chinese and foreign enterprises participated in the exhibition offline, and more than 1,900 enterprises participated in the “Cloud East Expo”.
3D exhibition hall, online negotiation, cross-border live broadcast… “Cloud East Expo” has created a multi-party exhibition platform, displaying a total of more than 4,800 products. As of 12:00 on November 30, the “Cloud East Expo” has more than 1 billion exposures on the whole network, and the number of visits on the site has exceeded 2005 million. It’s so convenient! All orders are made online, and there is no need to rush to Beijing, Shanghai and other places to sell. Caroline, the founder of a daily chemical company in the Philippines, said.
The “Cloud East Expo” will continue to operate all year round. Chinese and foreign exhibitors can carry out online exhibitions, negotiations and live marketing throughout the year. Cai Quan introduced his experience of touching the “Cloud East Expo” to the reporter: the other party’s enterprises could not get to the venue for some reason. Through the platform, the two sides determined the details of the transaction. After receiving the sample, the other party can place an order directly on the platform if satisfied. In the post-epidemic era, China and ASEAN will benefit more small and medium-sized enterprises by strengthening digital economic cooperation.
At the East China Expo, 5G, big data, blockchain and other fields have attracted much attention. Guangxi Blockchain Science and Technology Innovation Park has just opened this year. This was our first time attending the East Fair, and the results exceeded expectations. Qi Feng, manager of the comprehensive department of Guangxi Blockchain Science and Technology Innovation Park, said that at this East Expo, Science and Technology Innovation Park signed relevant cooperation framework agreements with enterprises in ASEAN countries. In the future, they plan to plan to plan, build and operate blockchain industrial parks in Malaysia, Thailand and other countries.
During the East China East China Expo, China-ASEAN Information Port Forum, China-ASEAN Digital Technology Exhibition, China Digital Economy Development and ASEAN Enterprise Opportunities English Blue Book Release and other activities were also held, signing a number of digital economic cooperation projects. Lin Yuhui, Secretary-General of ASEAN, said that the proportion of the digital economy in the GDP of ASEAN countries is expected to increase from 1.3% in 2015 to 8.5% in 2025. China and ASEAN countries have strong complementarity and great potential for cooperation in the field of digital economy.
“Inject more momentum into ASEAN and China to deepen cooperation”
This year’s East China Expo set up the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Cooperation Exhibition Area, the International Portal Port Exhibition Area, and the Public Epidemic Prevention and Health Exhibition Area for the first time. For the first time, it displayed the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone as a whole, presenting a new bright spot and trend of China-ASEAN cooperation.
At the booth of the Beibu Gulf International Portal, an audience is wearing VR equipment with the assistance of staff. Audiences can “enter” Qinzhou automatic container terminal and experience the intelligent loading and unloading process of the terminal. The unique interactive experience makes the audience marvel.
“The Beibu Gulf International Gateway Port will bring more trade convenience to western China and surrounding Southeast Asian countries.” Gao Hang, president of China-ASEAN Expo magazine, who is responsible for the overall planning of the construction of the exhibition area, told reporters that through the East Expo, the Beibu Gulf International Gateway Port has demonstrated its development potential and broad prospects in building an international corridor for ASEAN.
In August 2019, China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone was established, highlighting the characteristics of China-ASEAN opening up cooperation first trial, border characteristics, land-sea linkage and other characteristics, forming an important portal for the joint construction of the organic connection of the Belt and Road Initiative. Ye Jun, director of the Coordination and Guidance Bureau of Qinzhou Port Area of China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone, said that many foreign merchants have had an in-depth understanding of the policies and advantages of the Free Trade Zone at the East Expo, and the Free Trade Zone will certainly attract more investment and the prospect is promising.
The holding of the East China Expo as scheduled demonstrated China’s strong determination to unswervingly expand opening up to the outside world and enhance the linkage effect of domestic and international economic linkage. Liu Wentian, a Singaporean businessman, told reporters that China has made significant strategic results in epidemic prevention and control, taking the lead in restoring economic growth, and more foreign investors hope to participate in or increase investment in China.” The East China Expo will certainly inject more momentum into the deepening cooperation between ASEAN and China.
Plant a millet in spring and harvest ten thousand millet in autumn. Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of China-ASEAN dialogue relations. Under the new situation, the China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit will gather more strength and create more business opportunities to make greater contributions to promoting regional prosperity and development and working together to build a closer China-ASEAN community of destiny.
(Reporters Deng Jiansheng, Pang Geping, Liu Hui, Zhang Jiruo, Li Zong, Zhang Yunhe)
