[Explanation] The 17th China-ASEAN Expo (referred to as the China-ASEAN Expo) and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit opened on the 27th in Nanning, China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a video speech at the opening ceremony.

Yang Jiechi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, attended and presided over the opening ceremony.

　　[Explanation] 2020 is the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and the year of China-ASEAN digital economy cooperation. It also coincides with the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) with ASEAN as the core. A landmark time node in ASEAN economic and trade relations.

The theme of this grand event is "Building the Belt and Road and Prospering the Digital Economy Together", with Laos as the theme country and Pakistan as the special partner country.

　　[Commentary] At the opening meeting, Lao Prime Minister Thong Lun, Indonesian President Joko, Myanmar President Win Myint, Philippine President Duterte, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Thai Prime Minister Prayut, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Pakistani President Alvi and ASEAN Secretary-General Lin Yuhui delivered video speeches successively.

The heads of relevant Chinese ministries and commissions, the ambassadors of the 10 ASEAN countries and Pakistan to China, the envoys of other relevant countries along the “Belt and Road” route to China, the delegations of relevant domestic provinces (regions, cities) and the heads of central enterprises attended the opening ceremony.

　　[Explanation] For the first time, the China-ASEAN Expo will be carried out in the form of a combination of online and offline, physical exhibitions will be held, and the “Eastern Cloud Expo” will be launched simultaneously, including online display platforms, online conferences and negotiation platforms, live marketing promotion platforms, Cross-border e-commerce service platform, etc.

Offline physical exhibitions are mainly domestic exhibitors and foreign companies in China, and overseas merchants mainly participate in "clouds".

The offline physical exhibition area is 104,000 square meters, the total number of booths is 5,400, and 1,636 exhibitors are divided into four topics: commodity trade, investment cooperation, advanced technology, and service trade.

　　[Commentary] This expo lasts for 4 days, during which the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Myanmar and 2020 China-Myanmar Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum, the 45th Anniversary of China-Thailand Diplomatic Relations and the 2020 China-Thailand Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum, the 45th Anniversary of China-Philippines diplomatic relations and 2020 will be held during the Expo There are 11 series of high-level forums, including the China-Philippines Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum and the 10th Anniversary Special Forum of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, and more than 160 various economic and trade promotion activities have been arranged.

　　[Explanation] The China-ASEAN Expo is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of China, the economic and trade authorities of the 10 ASEAN governments and the ASEAN Secretariat.

　　Chen Yanyou Yang Chen Jiang Xuelin reports from Nanning, Guangxi

Editor in charge: [Zhang Yifan]