On September 17, the opening ceremony of the 22nd China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit was held in Nanning, Guangxi. The theme of this year’s CAEXPO and Summit was “Digital Intelligence Empowers Development, Innovation Leads the Future – Building a Community of Shared Future with New Opportunities from the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0.” The opening ceremony was attended by Chinese and foreign leaders, government officials, ASEAN ambassadors to China, and other distinguished guests.
Myanmar Prime Minister Nyu Soe Oo, Lao Vice President Bounthong, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Cabinet Office U Vongsayweso, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Water Transformation Fadillah, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh, and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hong attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches.
The five-day CAEXPO attracted 3,260 companies from 60 countries and regions worldwide, with a cumulative attendance of 226,000, a record high. As of September 20, according to incomplete statistics, this year’s CAEXPO achieved over 700 outcomes, including over 500 signed economic and trade projects and over 270 achievements across multiple sectors and formats. Participants from various countries believe that the areas of China-ASEAN cooperation continue to expand, friendly cooperation becomes more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and injects new impetus into building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.
Since the first CAEXPO and Summit in 2004, China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation has gradually advanced from commodity exchanges and trade to a stage of in-depth development characterized by digital interconnection and industrial integration. This year’s CAEXPO and Summit, focusing on artificial intelligence and new productivity, echoes the transformational trends of the global science and technology industry, marking a new era of “intelligence-led, innovation-driven” cooperation between the two sides and injecting new impetus into the high-quality development of the regional economy.
A relevant official from the Ministry of Commerce of China stated that the CAEXPO will continue to play a role in boosting the development of the Free Trade Area, promote the signing of the 3.0 version upgraded protocol, deepen cooperation in areas such as the digital economy and the green economy, and contribute to building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.