The 17th CAEXPO Will Focus on Digital Cooperation Written by Chen Libing

MoTingting

In March， the season everything comes back to life， the preparatory work for the 17th CAEXPO has been accelerated. According to relevant person-in-charge from the CAEXPO Secretariat， the 17th CAEXPO will be held as scheduled in Nanning during September 18-21， 2020. Laos will be the Country of Honor of this years CAEXPO. At present， the preparatory work has seen a good start， and the intention of domestic and foreign enterprises to participate in the exhibition is on the rise.

As a driver of the construction of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area （CAFTA）， CAEXPO， since its inception， has shouldered the major mission of deepening key and hot areas of China-ASEAN cooperation every year. The theme of each session of CAEXPO also focused on China-ASEAN cooperation， and special arrangements were made in terms of commodity display and activities planning. This has promoted China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation， the implementation of key projects and the establishment of a series of cooperation mechanisms.

As the year 2020 marks the Year of China-ASEAN Digital Economic Cooperation， the theme of the 17th CAEXPO has been determined as “Jointly Building the Belt and Road and Developing Digital Economy”， to better promote cooperation between China and ASEAN countries in such key areas as economy， trade and digital economy， and to serve the construction of the Belt and Road. On the occasion， the organizers will， centering on the above theme， build a high-end platform for dialogue and cooperation， make corresponding arrangements at the exhibition contents， plan a series of activities， deepen China-ASEAN cooperation in such fields as AI， big data， network security， E-commerce and wisdom city， and promote the upgrade of economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN nations.

Meanwhile， as an active practitioner involving in the Belt and Road Initiative， CAEXPO will continuously support the B&R construction. It is reported that the 17th CAEXPO will promote the in-depth connection between the B&R construction and the development plans of ASEAN countries by planning more high-level friendly exchange activities， and provide a platform for practical cooperation for participating enterprises through continuously enriching the content of B&R exhibition pavilions.

Promising ASEAN market attracting Chinese enterprises participation in the CAEXPO

The year 2020 marks the 10th anniversary of CAFTA. Over the past 10 years， China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation has been upgraded and improved. Especially since January 2020， when the epidemic has affected the global economy to some degree， the bilateral trade between China and ASEAN has risen against the trend and become a highlight of Chinas foreign trade. According to data released by the General Administration of Customs of China， the total value of China-ASEAN trade in the first two months of 2020 topped RMB 594.11 billion yuan. ASEAN has historically become Chinas largest trading partner， surpassing the EU.

The blockbuster news has signified the potential for China-ASEAN cooperation and boosted the confidence of enterprises in the region. At present， domestic cooperation units and enterprises have responded actively and registered to participate in the 17th CAEXPO， while repeat exhibitors intention to participate in the exhibition is soaring， and more than 30% of them have registered.

Promoted by Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce， Shanghai Zhongmeng Data， Shanghai Aerospace Industry （Holding） Co.， Ltd， Shanghai Building Materials， Shanghai Jiading Industrial Park and other enterprise institutions have an optimistic attitude toward the ASEAN market， and will continue to participate in the CAEXPO. Under the guidance of Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce， Zhejiang BroadExpo Exhibition Convention has carried out the work of attracting investment and exhibition through forms such as “online merchants association” and “online negotiation conference”. Meanwhile， Yiwu International Commercial Trade City， iRest and other enterprises also have continued to support the CAEXPO. Fujian has started attracting investment and exhibition work at the 17th CAEXPO， and made active contact with enterprises in China who are interested in exploring the ASEAN market. The Qingdao Municipal Commission of Commerce has adjusted the corresponding subsidy policy to encourage enterprises to participate in the 17th CAEXPO and the 2020 Overseas CAEXPO Exhibition.

The current work of attracting investment and exhibitions in Guangxi， the permanent home of CAEXPO， has registered remarkable achievements. At present， Guangxi Science and Technology Department has given priority to the work of 17th CAEXPO， and identified the direction of the professional technical exhibition. During the 17th CAEXPO， the 8th Forum on China-ASEAN Technology Transfer and Collaborative Innovation will continue to be held. Other activities such as Forum on China-ASEAN Joint Laboratory Innovation and Development， China-ASEAN International Forum for Innovation Cooperation in Sustainable Development will be added to the 17th CAEXPO.

Guangxi Food and Packaging Machinery Industry Association （GFPMIA） has held the 17th CAEXPO Investment and Exhibition Mobilization Meeting. During the outbreak of COVID-19， GFPMIA， jointly work with Nanning Kailong and Shanghai Qindian Machinery， has developed the simple mask production machine that can be sold through the CAEXPO to ASEAN countries to relief their pressure on mask production.

In addition， Guangxi Meteorological Bureau， Guangxi Agricultural Convention and Exhibition Center and other units， institutions and enterprises have also actively carried out the preparatory work for the 17th CAEXPO， demonstrating their enthusiasm and confidence for the success of the CAEXPO.

Heartening reports of investment promotion and exhibition from foreign partners

The outbreak of COVID-19 has had a certain impact on the global economy. In this case， China and ASEAN have become more aware of the importance of stabilizing the epidemic and restoring the economy.

Recently， ASEAN Secretary-General Dato Lim Jock Hoi， when accepting the invitation of the CAEXPO Secretariat to record a special video， said that ASEAN and China have noticed that novel coronavirus has damaged the economy of many countries. The common priority for ASEAN members is to take timely and concerted actions to minimize the economic impact. Through cooperation and solidarity， we are sure to overcome the novel coronavirus， and he looks forward to the success of the CAEXPO.

The trust and support from ASEAN countries and countries outside the region fully demonstrate the crucial role of the CAEXPO as a platform for promoting China-ASEAN exchanges and cooperation， and serving the B&R construction. At the meantime， the CAEXPO Secretariat has also actively coordinated and promoted COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control， and the preparation of the 17th CAEXPO， and conducted business contact and investment promotion through telephone， video communications， mail and other non-contact means. According to the CAEXPO Secretariat， the number of foreign booths is expected to exceed 1，700， among which nearly 1，500 are expected to be used by ASEAN countries.

Laos， the Country of Honor of this years CAEXPO， has confirmed to use the D5 pavilion of Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center alone， and the exhibition scale has reached a new high. The co-organizers from Vietnam and Cambodia asked for more booths. Co-organizers from Indonesia， Malaysia， Myanmar and Thailand said they would continue their exhibition.

In addition， the CAEXPO will further highlight the feature of the exhibition pavilions of ASEAN countries， giving priority to food and beverage， consumer goods， staple commodity and services that bear huge market potential. It also plans to set up a ASEAN jewelry exhibition area， a cross-border E-commerce zone and a RCEP exhibition area for the first time.

Thanks to the trust and support of various countries and the enthusiasm of exhibitors， the preparatory work of the 17th CAEXPO has seen a good start. With concerted efforts from all parties， the 17th CAEXPO will be held as scheduled and achieve success.