19th China-ASEAN Expo Creates New Opportunities And Concludes With Historic Deals

The 19th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit concluded in Nanning, the capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It promises to help deepen cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and create new opportunities for reviving regional economic growth. It was the first edition of the China-ASEAN Expo since RCEP opened and, given the tremendous success, promises to blossom closer economic ties for more opportunities.

The four-day Expo themed "Sharing RCEP New Opportunities, Building a Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area" marks the first year of implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement. “This year, the 19th edition of the annual China-ASEAN Expo marks the first year of the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership, and it's hoped that both sides can make good use of new opportunities in the wake of the RCEP implementation, continue to expand the opening and cooperative "circle of friends," and build a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future”, Vice Premier Han Zheng said in a keynote speech at the opening of CAEXPO.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a free trade agreement among 15 Asia-Pacific countries, including 10 ASEAN member states - Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. RCEP is expected to eliminate as much as 90 per cent of the tariffs on goods traded and red tape among its members over the next two decades. A total of 267 domestic and international deals have been signed, with an investment of over 400 billion yuan (US$57 billion), up 37 per cent compared to last year, said Wei Zhaohui, the secretary-general of the Expo's secretariat, at a press conference. Eighty-eight online and offline economic and trade events were held in areas including new high-end metal materials, health, tourism and culture, new green chemical materials, and mechanical equipment manufacturing, according to Wei.

Covering 102,000 square meters, this year's CAEXPO expo attracted 1,653 enterprises from 40 countries, with 5,400 exhibition booths set up. The exhibition hall saw about 25,600 visits per day on average, up 19.2 per cent compared to the last Expo. The Expo had a special exhibition area for boutique products from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) countries. 

China has been ASEAN's largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years, and ASEAN became China's top trading partner in 2020, surpassing the European Union, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi said that “The China-ASEAN Expo has great significance in strengthening business networks and regional connectivity.” He added that RCEP could help mitigate supply chain risks while building a conducive business environment for the region to become more resilient against future challenges.