Focus interview: After the "Golden Decade", the next stop: "The Diamond Decade"

  CCTV News (Focus Interview): On November 30, the 17th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit came to a successful conclusion in Nanning, Guangxi.

Online and offline businessmen at home and abroad have facilitated 3000 pairs of precise matching, signed 86 international and domestic investment cooperation projects, and the scale of cooperation projects hit a record high.

It is worth noting that the time of this year’s China-ASEAN Expo and the summit coincides with the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. In addition, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement of 15 countries including ASEAN and China, Japan and Korea (RCEP), also formally signed on November 15.

Under the intertwining of the new crown pneumonia epidemic and the changes in the past century, these have made this China-ASEAN Expo and the summit have extraordinary significance.

  On November 27th, the 17th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit opened in Nanning, Guangxi. In this year’s video speech at the opening ceremony, President Xi Jinping stated that China-ASEAN relations have become Asia-Pacific regional cooperation in the past 7 years. The most successful and dynamic model in China has become a vivid example of promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

He proposed: China is willing to work with ASEAN to build a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

  Affected by the epidemic, the China-ASEAN Expo and the summit were postponed for more than two months than originally planned, but the scale has not been reduced. The total planned area of ​​the physical exhibition is 104,000 square meters and the total number of booths is 5,400. Except for China and ASEAN countries In addition, 108 companies from 22 countries along the “Belt and Road” participated in the exhibition. In addition, for the first time, a combination of online and offline exhibition was adopted, with 1956 exhibiting companies in the cloud.

At the Expo site, some booths attracted a large number of people when they opened on the first day, which made exhibitors somewhat unexpected.

  In addition to a dazzling array of products, the agricultural ecology, education and tourism, investment services and technological innovations of ASEAN and the countries along the “Belt and Road” have been exhibited. Since the first event in 2004, this has become a regular annual international economic and trade A grand event, and 2020 has given it a very different meaning.

  This year coincides with the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. In the past 10 years, bilateral trade volume has increased from US$292.8 billion in 2010 to US$641.5 billion in 2019.

As of the end of 2019, two-way investment reached US$223 billion, and China has remained ASEAN's largest trading partner for 10 consecutive years.

From January to October this year, China-ASEAN trade volume increased by 7% against the trend, and ASEAN has historically become China's largest trading partner.

  President Xi Jinping's high level of positioning and expectations for China-ASEAN relations in his opening speech aroused resonance from people from all walks of life in ASEAN.

  The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area is a free trade area composed of China and the ten ASEAN countries, covering 11 countries with a population of 1.9 billion. Since the free trade area was fully launched on January 1, 2010, bilateral trade in goods and services between China and ASEAN Rapid growth, deep integration of the industrial chain and value chain.

At this expo and summit, many new areas of cooperation have also emerged, such as the first Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area cooperation exhibition area, the first international gateway port exhibition area, and the first public epidemic prevention and sanitation exhibition area.

  More room for imagination in the future also comes from the regional comprehensive economic partnership agreement officially signed on November 15 this year. As the world’s largest free trade area, the agreement covers ASEAN, China, Japan, and South Korea. After it officially takes effect, More than 90% of the goods in the region will achieve zero tariffs.

President Xi Jinping said that China welcomes the completion of the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and hopes to take effect as soon as possible.

It is necessary to make full use of the platform functions of the China-ASEAN Expo to play a greater role in the overall development of China-ASEAN and even East Asia economic and trade cooperation.

  The theme of this year's China-ASEAN Expo and the summit is "Building the Belt and Road and Prospering the Digital Economy Together". This year is also the China-ASEAN Digital Economy Cooperation Year.

President Xi Jinping proposed: China is willing to work with ASEAN to build a China-ASEAN Information Port, promote digital interconnection and build a "digital Silk Road."

As an important infrastructure, the digital economy has gradually released new momentum in the cooperation between China and ASEAN and countries along the “Belt and Road”.

Under the epidemic, personnel exchanges between China and ASEAN countries have decreased, but cross-border e-commerce has developed rapidly. According to business statistics, as of October 31 this year, the Nanning Cross-border E-commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zone has completed cross-border e-commerce retail Imports and exports were 31,877,600 orders, with a transaction volume of 1.627 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 175%.

The China-ASEAN intelligent cross-border logistics platform developed by a local logistics company in Guangxi was launched recently. Trucks from China and Vietnam can make advance appointments through the platform for customs clearance time, staggering peak periods, and effectively improving customs clearance efficiency.

  For exhibitors from ASEAN countries participating in the CAEXPO, the convenience brought by the digital economy infrastructure is also particularly obvious.

As an exhibitor, Ka Lingna participated in the China-ASEAN Expo for the first time. The well-known Indonesian brand biscuits she represented have been rolled out in China's online and offline channels, and the sales were very impressive.

  China's developed digital economy industrial chain, as well as the increasingly active and convenient cross-border e-commerce trade with ASEAN countries, give Ka Lingna a bigger vision for the future.

  Just before the summit of the ASEAN Expo, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed to accelerate the construction of a new development pattern with the domestic cycle as the main body and the domestic and international dual cycles mutually promoting each other.

The upgrading and expansion of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, especially the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, also provides more favorable external conditions for accelerating the construction of a new development pattern.

Under the new development pattern, China has further opened its door to opening up, sharing development opportunities with other countries in the world.

In the exhibition area of ​​the Beibu Gulf International Gateway Port of the China-ASEAN Expo, visitors can use VR equipment to "walk into" the Qinzhou Automated Container Terminal to fully experience the vitality and vitality of the Beibu Gulf International Gateway Port.

The Beibu Gulf of Guangxi was established in September last year as my country's gateway to the ASEAN international channel and the fulcrum of the new land-sea channel in the western part of the country.

Currently, the Beibu Gulf has opened 52 domestic and international routes covering major ports in my country, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, and South Africa.

It is worth mentioning that, as an important part of enhancing port capacity, “sea-rail combined transport” has also opened up the “last mile” for enterprises in the western inland regions to connect with the international cycle.

Since the beginning of this year, the Qinzhou Railway Container Central Station, which plays an important role in connection, has achieved a contrarian growth in container handling under the epidemic.

  As President Xi Jinping put forward, China will unswervingly expand its opening to the outside world, enhance the linkage effect of domestic and international economies, and drive the world's common recovery through its own recovery.

Looking ahead, the space for cooperation between China and ASEAN will be broader.

  China and ASEAN countries are friendly neighbors linked by mountains and rivers, and important partners with a common destiny.

Whether it is united to fight the epidemic or economic and trade exchanges, the vigorous vitality and strong momentum of cooperation between China and ASEAN reflect the trend of the times of win-win cooperation and become an important platform for China's open development.

President Xi Jinping emphasized: “Next year, China will embark on a new journey of building a socialist modern country in an all-round way. China will unswervingly expand its opening to the outside world, and the space for cooperation between China and ASEAN will be broader.” Expanding common interests in opening up and realizing opportunities in cooperation shared.

Looking to the future, China will move forward side by side with other countries in the world, including ASEAN, to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and create a prosperous and beautiful future.