CAEXPO： From Regional to Global

In Nanning， the capital city of south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， the International Convention and Exhibition Center has become a landmark. With a unique and striking outer appearance， the design of the building was inspired by hibiscus， Nanning’s city flower.

During the golden autumn season， on Sept. 12-15， the 14th China-ASEAN Expo （CAEXPO） and the 14th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit took place in the center.

With the theme of “Co-Building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road， Promoting Regional Economic Integration through Tourism，” the 14th CAEXPO was expected to inject new vitality into the ancient trade route. It made breakthroughs in economic and trade cooperation， production capacity cooperation and the synergy of the Belt and Road Initiative with the development strategies of other countries.

Tourism Cooperation as a ‘New Pillar’

Exotic dances， delicious tropical fruits and unique Southeast Asian architecture were all found in the “City of Charm” pavilion at the expo， with the strong flavor of Southeast Asia attracting a large number of visitors. As the expo’s Country of Honor， Brunei’s pavilion was constructed in the middle of the exhibition hall. Exhibitors in traditional costumes posed for photographs with visitors.

“In addition to the song and dance performance， we also organized an event for visitors to experience Brunei’s ancient calligraphy， which is similar to Arabic calligraphy，” said Venie Ho， a tour supervisor from Brunei’s Wing On Travel Trading Sdn Bhd， who was attending the CAEXPO for the first time. Ho enjoyed her stay in Nanning， where she felt the weather is similar to that in Brunei.

“What I didn’t expect was the popularity of our promotional ambassador Chun Wu [Kiat-Chun Goh， a Bruneian actor known for his roles in Jin Yi Wei， Hoi Sam Mo Fa and other works]，” Ho said. “I have been to Beijing， Shanghai， Hebei and Hong Kong， and I would like to see China’s famous mountains， including Mount Tai， Mount Huang and Zhangjiajie. Unfortunately， many people in China do not have a good understanding of Brunei. We have seized this opportunity to introduce Brunei’s history， culture and customs to expo attendees and prepare them for travel to Brunei.”

Livingson Ong， tour manager of Wing On Travel Trading， has attended five previous expos. What impressed him most， he said， was the tourism promotion conference at the expo.

“A special exhibition hall was dedicated to tourism promotion， where we can promote our products and learn about demand from our Chinese counterparts，” Ong said. “At present， we host an average of 40，000 tourists every year， 85 percent of whom are Chinese. There remains a large space for promotion.”

As a result of the CAEXPO in Nanning， a direct flight from Nanning to Brunei was put into operation in July this year， providing the city’s residents with more opportunities to travel to Brunei.

This year marks the China-ASEAN Year of Tourism Cooperation. Tourism cooperation has always been a highlight of China-ASEAN relations. Under the theme of regional economic integration through tourism， the expo organized a forum for the travel agencies and organizations of both sides to interact with one another and explore new types of in-depth cooperation.

On the sidelines of the expo， the China-ASEAN Mayors’ Forum was held. Seventy-seven mayors from China and seven ASEAN member states participated in discussions on how to build smart cities and strengthen tourism cooperation in cities across the region. The mayors agreed that they should make joint efforts to build a community of tourism cooperation and make it “a new pillar” of China-ASEAN cooperation.

As a result of the CAEXPO promotion， China-ASEAN tourism cooperation has made rapid progress. In recent years， ASEAN tourism has been a hit in China. CAEXPO’s “Cities of Charm” have been on top of the list of destinations for many tourists. Wang Lei， secretary-general of the China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat， said that the “Cities of Charm” event has provided a platform for the continuous integration of culture， tourism and other areas between China and ASEAN， and that exchanges between the cities and people have never been closer.

In 2016， personnel exchanges between China and ASEAN exceeded 38 million. More than 2，700 flights traveled between China and ASEAN countries every week. China has become ASEAN’s largest source of overseas tourists. An average of 1 million tourists from Vietnam， Malaysia and the Philippines visit China every year. Of China’s Top 15 major sources of foreign tourists， six are ASEAN member states. Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， which shares a border with ASEAN， hosts over 3 million foreign tourists every year. Half of those are from ASEAN countries.

International Production Capacity Cooperation

“In recent years， a large number of Chinese enterprises have invested in Vietnam，” said Nguyen Hong Hanh， sales manager of the Sai Gon-Bac Industrial Park Corporation of Vietnam. Nguyen speaks fluent Chinese， and was attending the China-Vietnam production capacity cooperation promotion conference. This was his second time attending the promotion event in Nanning.

“I would like to introduce our corporation， our products and service to more Chinese companies，” Nguyen said. “I look forward to more Chinese investment in our industrial park in the future.”

Political， economic and cultural cooperation between China and Vietnam has been constantly improving. Against the backdrop of China-Vietnam friendship， there will be more profound cooperation between the enterprises of the two sides.

Zheng Chiping， deputy director-general of the Foreign Investment Department of the China National Development and Reform Commission， said that in recent years， China’s direct investment to Vietnam has shown a momentum of steady growth. Chinese companies have become increasingly enthusiastic about investing in Vietnam. According to Chinese government statistics， in the first seven months of this year， China’s investment in Vietnamese enterprises amounted to US$1.62 billion， a year-on-year increase of 103.9 percent， ranking China fourth among all the countries and regions investing in Vietnam. Some of the investment projects have achieved desirable economic and social benefits.

As an important part of the Belt and Road Initiative， international production capacity cooperation has become a hotspot of China-ASEAN cooperation. With the pragmatic implementation of the Initiative， China’s cooperation with its partners in this field has maintained fairly rapid rates of growth. To promote China-ASEAN industrial capacity cooperation for common development， the 14th CAEXPO successfully organized a series of events focused on production capacity and equipment manufacturing cooperation， including an exhibition， a forum and a promotion conference. Matching events were held between Chinese leading enterprises and 10-odd industrial parks in ASEAN countries， such as the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone and the China-Indonesia Economic Cooperation Zone. A number of agreements on cooperation projects have been concluded， particularly those relating to Chinese companies investing in ASEAN industrial parks.

To optimize the display of international production capacity cooperation， the expo highlighted infrastructure construction， overseas project contracting， energy conservation， environmental protection， resource development and cooperation in major cooperation areas such as railways， nonferrous metals， electrical power， building materials and construction machinery. Quite a few well-known Chinese enterprises attended the exhibition， including the Aluminum Corporation of China （CHALCO）， China State Construction （CSCEC）， China Road and Bridge Corporation （CRBC） and China Railway Group.

In recent years， with the strengthening of political ties， economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN has developed steadily and healthily with fruitful results. China has been ASEAN’s biggest trading partner for eight years， while ASEAN has been China’s third largest trading partner for six years. In 2016， bilateral trade between the two reached US$452.2 billion. Bilateral trade from January to July this year reached US$277 billion， a year-on-year increase of 14.5 percent. In the last 10 years， ASEAN has become one of the fastest growing beneficiaries of Chinese overseas investment. Two-way investment exceeded US$185 billion.

CAEXPO Growing More International

“It was not easy to get this booth，” said Mao Qiyi， a Thai-Chinese businessman who has participated in previous expos. Mao is now also the President of the ASEAN Federation of Logistics and Purchasing. “For previous expos， the organizer recruited exhibitors in Thailand. This year， it was the other way round. Exhibitors had to come to the organizer for a booth. The Belt and Road has brought tangible investment and benefits to the countries along the route. The business community of Thailand would like to see continued success of the Initiative.” Mao said that in Thailand， many people in industrial and commercial circles cherish the opportunity to be present at the expo. Many have great expectations for the development opportunities that come with the building of the Belt and Road.

Vithit Powattanasuk， director of information and public relations of the ASEAN-China Center， said that a large number of exhibitors in Thailand applied for vacancies at the expo. Although the exhibition area was expanded twice， there were not enough booths. Only two-thirds of the applicants actually made it to the expo.

According to the organizer， this expo reached a record high in both exhibition floor space and number of booths. The total exhibition floor space was 124，000 square meters， with a new exhibition hall of 14，000 square meters. A total of 6，600 booths were set. The floor space for exhibitors from ASEAN and outside the region was 33，000 square meters. Eight ASEAN countries set up independent pavilions， and it was the first time Brunei， the Country of Honor， hosted an independent pavilion.

In addition to ASEAN countries， countries outside the region， including those along the Belt and Road， also participated in the expo.

Kazakhstan was the first country along the Belt and Road invited to the expo as a special partner. Kazakhstan hosted a forum on sub-national cooperation with China， set up a national image display zone and organized its promotion conference. Askar Mamin， the First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan， said that the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative is of great significance. In the future， Kazakhstan will improve its industrial layout through the “Nanning Channel” for China-ASEAN cooperation. The country intends to build a logistics park in Nanning to facilitate its cooperation with ASEAN countries.

This year’s expo saw its first-ever exhibition on the theme of the Belt and Road. Distinctive products from countries along the route， including Kazakhstan， Sri Lanka， Egypt and Poland， were on display. The specialty foods， agricultural products， handicrafts， tea， jewelry and furniture proved extremely attractive to visitors.

What’s more， the expo made new progress in promoting economic and trade cooperation with countries outside the China-ASEAN region. In the International Pavilion there was an exhibition of specialty commodities from the United States， the United Kingdom， Germany， Australia， Poland， Iran， Georgia and Ghana. Also during the expo， a China-UK roundtable on business opportunities along the Belt and Road took place to promote cooperation within the framework.

“This expo attracted exhibitors from 68 countries and regions，” Wang Lei added. “Four-thousand international buyers attended the expo， mainly from ASEAN countries， Europe， the United States， Latin America， the Middle East， South Asia and Africa. The expo has promoted cooperation with countries beyond the China-ASEAN region.”

Official data show that a record 115 companies from 16 countries outside the region attended the expo.

Since 2004， the China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit have held 13 successful sessions. The event has emerged as a major platform for China-ASEAN all-round pragmatic cooperation. The initial purpose of the expo was exchange and cooperation between China and ASEAN countries. With the proposition and implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative， CAEXPO has aligned its purpose with the Initiative. The inclusion of the countries along the Belt and Road has injected new vitality into the expo.

“The participation of the countries outside the region has made CAEXPO more international，” Wang Lei explained. “It has attracted more attention from all around the world.”