(The 20th East Expo) In the next 20 years, how will the East Expo join hands with China and ASEAN to step into the future?

Nanning, September 9 (ZXS) -- Question: In the next 19 years, how will the East Expo join hands with China and ASEAN to step into the future?

Written by Zhang Guangquan

The 20th China-ASEAN Expo (hereinafter referred to as the "East Expo") was held in Nanning from September 9 to 16. After 19 years of precipitation and accumulation, the East Expo has become an important platform for enterprises of both sides to create wealth legends, and also the most important cooperation bridge between China and ASEAN. Standing at a new starting point, how can the East Expo join hands with China and ASEAN to step into the future?

Data map: On September 9, at the 18th China-ASEAN Expo held in Nanning, Guangxi, advanced technology products attracted visitors. The picture shows an intelligent robot dancing to attract visitors. Photo by Chen Guanyan

In the past: the East Expo boosted the construction of the free trade zone

In the past 20 years, the East Expo has promoted the implementation of a series of consensus documents, joint statements and action plans reached between China and ASEAN, and has become a pragmatic platform for promoting regional economic integration.

Wei Zhaohui, Secretary-General of the China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat and Director of the Guangxi International Expo Bureau, said that in the past 20 years, the East Expo has become a booster for the construction of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. It will drive the implementation of a number of major projects such as the "Two Countries, Two Parks" and the China-ASEAN Information Port, promote China and ASEAN as each other's largest trading partners and each other's most active investment partners, and promote the upgrading of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area from version 1.0 to version 2.0 and towards version 3.0.

"Over the past 20 years, the East Expo has continued to expand its platform functions, extending from serving China-ASEAN '10+1' cooperation to Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and Belt and Road cooperation, and promoting win-win cooperation on a larger scale." Wei Zhaohui said.

Now: Enterprises are optimistic about the East Expo

In the past 20 years, through the East Expo, Chinese enterprises have actively deployed the ASEAN market, and ASEAN enterprises have also taken the opportunity to break into the Chinese market.

"During the layout of the ASEAN market, Liugong equipment has played a great role in major projects and engineering construction such as China-Laos Railway, Yawan High-speed Railway, and China-Thailand Railway." Xiang Dongsheng, deputy general manager of LiuGong Machinery Asia Pacific Co., Ltd., introduced that the ASEAN market is vast, and LiuGong will continue to use the East Expo platform to understand and master the development trend and competition situation of the Southeast Asian market, and enhance the competitiveness of LiuGong in the Southeast Asian market.

Participating in the East Expo for 5 consecutive years, Cambodia Yuhua Hongda Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. has successfully opened the door to the Chinese market, and the sales volume of Cambodian jasmine rice has increased year by year in the Chinese market, and the number of bulk orders every year has continued to "rise" which also proves that the company has obtained substantial returns in expanding the Chinese market.

"Driven by the East Expo, we have successfully sold Cambodian jasmine rice to supermarkets, malls and online platforms across China." Chen Peiling, general manager of the company, said.

Vietnam Binh Tien Shoes has participated in the East Expo for 20 consecutive years, which reflects its emphasis on the Chinese market and recognition of the cooperation platform of the East Expo. "Our product sales have been growing steadily for many years. Our shoes have won the love of consumers with their comfort, good quality and high cost performance. Vietnam Binh Tien Shoes exhibitor Lu Kai said that in the past 20 years, through the East Expo platform, Binh Tien Shoes has successfully demonstrated the quality of Vietnamese footwear in the Chinese market, with the help of this platform and global partners to establish a solid business relationship, Binh Tien Shoes is optimistic about the role of the East Expo as a platform in the next 20 years.

The future: working together to meet new challenges

In the past 20 years, the successful holding of the East Expo has witnessed the story of many Chinese and ASEAN enterprises rushing in both directions to create wealth legends. In the next 20 years, how will the East Expo join hands with China and ASEAN to step into the future?

Lei Xiaohua, chief expert of the Southeast Asian and International Issues Research and Innovation Team of the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out that after some big countries engaged in trade protectionism, the China-ASEAN industrial chain supply chain needs to be restructured, and Chinese enterprises have invested in ASEAN countries and set up R&D centers in Singapore, making China and ASEAN form a new industrial chain supply chain. This, in turn, promotes bilateral trade, which makes the East Expo be given a new mission in the face of a new industrial chain and supply chain.

Zhang Jianping, vice chairman of the China Socio-economic System Analysis Research Association, believes that the cooperation between China and ASEAN will face some interference and difficulties in the future, but the 20 years of exchange and cooperation experience at the East Expo has proved that China and ASEAN have the wisdom to deal with these interference and difficulties.

Zhang Jianping said that at present, China-ASEAN economic and trade relations are closer and more complementary than before, from the trend point of view, the global supply chain and global value chain of China and ASEAN will become more resilient, cooperation will be deeper, and the East Expo will continue to promote mutual trust and cooperation between China and ASEAN.

Xu Ningning, executive director of the China-ASEAN Business Council, said in an interview with China News Agency that the East Expo will still play its due role in the negotiation process of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area Version 3.0 in the future, and will also bring positive effects to the implementation of RCEP. "This year's participation in the 20th East Expo is proof of this." Xu Ningning said. (End)