Having traversed the "Golden Decade" and the "Diamond Decade," the China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (hereinafter referred to as the Expo and the Summit, respectively) stand at a new starting point for development, embarking on a new phase of "embedding diamonds to form a crown."
From September 24th to 28th, the 21st Expo and the 21st Summit were held in Nanning, Guangxi, with the theme "Intimacy, Sincerity, Mutual Benefit, Inclusiveness for Joint Development, Embedding Diamonds to Form a Crown to Create the Future—Promoting the Construction of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 and High-Quality Regional Growth." The event showcased the latest cooperation achievements between China and ASEAN countries. As Deputy Minister of Commerce Li Fei stated, this Expo serves as a bridge between the past and the future, further enhancing the quality and efficiency of the exhibition, gathering more consensus, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation, and pushing the economic and trade cooperation between the two sides to a new level.
After 20 years of development, the economic and trade exchanges between China and ASEAN countries have been continuously deepening and upgrading, with practical cooperation increasingly strengthening. Currently, China and ASEAN are implementing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with high quality and are accelerating the construction of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 to a new level.
On the morning of September 24th, Ding Xuezhang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, attended the opening ceremony of the 21st China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit and delivered a speech.
Ding Xuezhang stated that China and ASEAN have always moved forward hand in hand, becoming the most successful and dynamic model in Asia-Pacific regional cooperation and a vivid example of promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Ding Xuezhang pointed out that China is comprehensively advancing the construction of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation with Chinese-style modernization, which will bring tremendous opportunities to the world. We are willing to continue practicing the concept of intimacy, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness, deepen practical cooperation with ASEAN countries, and write a new chapter in building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future. First, promote strategic mutual trust to a new height. Work together to implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative, deeply integrate development plans, jointly build the "Belt and Road" with high quality, and better promote the prosperity and stability of the region and the world. Second, advance open cooperation to a new level. Implement the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership with high quality, promote the early completion of negotiations for the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0, steadily expand institutional opening, and build a more stable and smooth cross-border industrial chain and supply chain. Third, create a new pattern of all-round connectivity. Jointly build a high-level new international land-sea trade corridor, solidly promote the construction of important economic corridors and key projects, and build a "land-sea-sky-network" four-in-one interconnected network. Fourth, expand new areas of scientific and technological innovation cooperation. Implement the China-ASEAN Science and Technology Innovation Promotion Plan, accelerate the construction of platforms such as joint laboratories, and give full play to the role of mechanisms such as the China-ASEAN Technology Transfer Center, so that more innovation achievements benefit the people of both sides. Fifth, cultivate new highlights for people-to-people understanding and affinity. Taking the China-ASEAN People-to-People Exchange Year as an opportunity, further deepen exchanges and cooperation in fields such as culture, tourism, training, and youth, create more "small and beautiful" livelihood projects, and strengthen the popular foundation of bilateral relations.
A number of "firsts" appeared at the Expo
Vietnamese Trung Nguyen coffee, Malaysian Musang King durian, Thai jasmine fragrant rice, and Laotian beer... Batch after batch of exhibits from ASEAN countries have arrived in Nanning, Guangxi, and made their debut at this Expo.This year marks the 21st anniversary of the East China Expo, with an increase in both the scale of the exhibition halls and the number of participating companies compared to previous years. It is reported that the exhibition area of this year's East China Expo is nearly 200,000 square meters, with more than 3,000 companies participating. It is worth mentioning that there are also several "first" and "new" activities this year, with "new quality productivity" being one of the key words. The exhibition showcases the latest trends and technical levels in emerging fields such as digital technology, green and low-carbon, new energy, and intelligent connected vehicles, and has newly established an ASEAN high-tech product exhibition area, focusing on displaying high-tech achievements from countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Wei Chaohui, Secretary-General of the China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat, introduced that this year's participating companies, including Fortune Global 500, China Top 500, well-known industry companies, unicorns, and innovative enterprises with specialized and refined new characteristics, have significantly increased compared to previous years. A new ASEAN high-tech product exhibition area has been established, "This innovative measure not only adapts to the new trends of current technology and industrial development but also more accurately focuses on the key areas of the 3.0 version of the free trade zone negotiations, injecting new vitality and momentum into the cooperation between the two sides."
At present, China and ASEAN are working hard to build a closer science and technology innovation partnership for the future to cope with regional and global challenges. Wang Yiwei, Director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University of China and Senior Researcher at Taihe Think Tank, told reporters from the 21st Century Economic Report that in terms of technology transfer, ASEAN countries have higher expectations for China, especially in the fields of new energy and green environmental protection technology. If the electric vehicle industry is to be developed, it is not a simple localization of production but also involves issues such as knowledge sharing and the construction of supply chains.
Ge Hongliang, Deputy Dean of the School of ASEAN Studies at Guangxi Minzu University, also told reporters from the 21st Century Economic Report that the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and ASEAN countries in emerging economic fields is at multiple levels, including cooperation between China and ASEAN countries in technology exchange and transfer, and industrial certification. "Specifically, I think this kind of technical cooperation is based on the different advantages of countries, focusing on cooperation in different fields, such as China's cooperation with Malaysia and Singapore in the semiconductor and chip fields, and cooperation with Laos in new energy and green electricity. In addition, China has also laid out cooperation with other ASEAN countries in emerging fields." Ge Hongliang said.
Surasit Thanathong, Director of the China-Thai Strategic Research Center at the Thai National Research Institute, said that China shares technology and experience with ASEAN through international cooperation, helping local green development and continuously promoting further upgrades in cooperation.
In addition, this year's East China Expo has also created more "firsts," including the first exhibition selection event to be held this year. At the same time, more "small and beautiful," "refined and specialized" economic and trade docking activities have been added, providing companies with more free new product launches and debuts.
China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone Construction Moves Towards Version 3.0
With the construction of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone, the East China Expo officially kicked off in 2004. Over the years, the Expo and the summit have continuously helped to promote economic and trade exchanges between China and the ASEAN region, becoming a powerful booster.Over the past 20 years, China and ASEAN have achieved fruitful results in economic and trade cooperation. According to statistics from Chinese customs, since 2004, the scale of bilateral trade between ASEAN countries and China has expanded rapidly, growing from 876.38 billion yuan in 2004 to 6.41 trillion yuan in 2023, with an average annual growth of 11%, which is 3 percentage points faster than the overall growth rate of China's foreign trade during the same period. The proportion of China's foreign trade total value accounted for by ASEAN countries increased from 9.2% in 2004 to 15.4% in 2023.
Data shows that from January to August this year, ASEAN continued to be China's largest trading partner, with China's imports and exports to ASEAN reaching 4.5 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10%. China and ASEAN's economic and trade cooperation continues to heat up: for 15 consecutive years, China has remained ASEAN's largest trading partner; for 4 consecutive years, ASEAN has remained China's largest trading partner. Behind the continuously rising economic and trade figures, China and ASEAN are gradually building a closer community with a shared future.
Wang Yiwei believes that against the backdrop of the accelerating evolution of the global economic pattern, China and ASEAN have utilized their geographical advantages, institutional advantages, and natural division of labor to build a more solid industrial chain and supply chain system. This not only reflects the institutional dividends brought about by the entry into force of the RCEP but also the advantages brought by China's new round of comprehensive deepening reform. The economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN has ushered in many new changes, evolving from traditional goods trade to new types of trade, including cross-border e-commerce, digitalization, intellectual property rights, cultural tourism, and other trade forms.
Lei Xiaohua, deputy director of the Southeast Asia Research Institute of the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences, said that at present, China and ASEAN are gradually forming a mutually beneficial and win-win "regional cycle" model of "ASEAN exporting primary products to China - importing machinery and equipment and intermediate products from China - and then exporting consumer goods to China and third countries." China and ASEAN have built a higher value industrial chain and supply chain, and bilateral cooperation will be more stable.
The upgraded Eastern Expo and Summit continue to play a role in promoting regional economic development as a platform, holding a series of activities, including the China-ASEAN Business Leaders Forum, the Joint Meeting of the Presidents of the National Chambers of Commerce and Industry of China and the 10 ASEAN countries, etc., to build consensus around the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 version.
How to promote the construction of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 version is one of the key topics of this meeting. Wang Yiwei said that the negotiations on the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 version may involve institutional and systemic issues, such as market access and protection for ASEAN countries. Ge Hongliang believes that the negotiations will focus on tariff preferences, especially for agricultural products and agricultural by-products, with specific content including procedures at the legal level of service trade and important norms.
Seeking new opportunities through the Eastern Expo platform
Many visitors have found that this session of the Eastern Expo exhibition hall has added many new elements, especially showcasing the latest industry dynamics in emerging fields such as digital technology, green and low-carbon, new energy, and intelligent connected vehicles from various countries. In addition, the China-ASEAN preferred product display area is a highlight of the exhibition hall, focusing on displaying representative exhibits from ASEAN countries, as well as the winning exhibits selected from this session onwards.ASEAN countries remain the "biggest" exhibitors at the fair. Looking at the exhibition structure, ASEAN and countries outside the region account for 30% of the exhibition area in the main exhibition area, and the scale of ASEAN countries' exhibitions continues to be the highest among thousands of international exhibitions in the country.
The reporter also found many "old" faces at the exhibition. The president of the Japanese brand Kamakura Shirts, Naoko Sadamatsu, said that this is her second time at the East Expo, mainly for brand promotion, hoping to promote and introduce the brand to customers from Southeast Asia and around the world at this exhibition.
She said that with the full implementation of RCEP, the company's exports to Southeast Asian countries, especially Thailand and Singapore, have increased significantly. She introduced that Kamakura Shirts currently has only 2% to 3% of its sales in Southeast Asia, with sales outlets in countries such as Thailand and the Philippines, and hopes to increase product visibility and cooperation and sales opportunities with Southeast Asian countries in the future.
Xinjiang is the guest province of this year's exhibition. As an important hub for jointly building the "Belt and Road", Xinjiang is a gateway to Central Asia and Europe. Now, with the help of the East Expo platform, it has expanded trade and connections with Southeast Asian countries. The 21st Century Economic Report reporter interviewed Yang Shuting, the marketing manager of Xinjiang Sibu Wei Tea, at the 2024 China-ASEAN Silk Road (Cross-Border) E-Commerce Open Cooperation Theme Promotion Event held on the afternoon of the 24th. She introduced that Sibu Wei Tea is similar to the current popular milk tea, but different in material selection and production process. The materials contain Wei medicine ingredients, and the process comes from the traditional production skills of Hetian medicinal tea. Yang Shuting said, "We hope to use the East Expo platform to increase the brand visibility of Sibu Wei Tea and share good things with more people."
Businesses use the East Expo to find more business opportunities, and the East Expo platform also innovates and applies to provide services for enterprises. It is reported that this session of the East Expo innovates and sets up a permanent exhibition hall for the East Expo and the summit, using the online East Expo to provide enterprises with pre-matching and precise matching, and "online + offline" diversified services for China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation.
Tan Peichuang, the vice chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, introduced that this session of the East Expo has invited more countries outside the region to participate in the exhibition, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization participated in the exhibition for the first time, and for the first time held the Australian business Guangxi trip and the overseas Chinese business leader Guangxi trip. In addition, the exhibition period of this session of the East Expo will be extended from 4 days to 5 days, adding one more public open day than the last session.