People try product from Nepal during the 19th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (PHOTO: XINHUA)

By?CHEN?Chunyou

The 19th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, themed on sharing new opportunities of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) kicked off in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on September 16.

The year 2022 marks the first year of the establishment of the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership, and it is also the first year since the RCEP agreement took effect this January.

According to China's Ministry of Commerce, in the first seven months of 2022, China-ASEAN trade reached 544.9 billion USD, up 13.1 percent year-on-year, accounting for 15 percent of China's total foreign trade. China has remained ASEAN's largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years, and ASEAN's position as China's largest trading partner has been further consolidated. See page 4

A total of 1,653 enterprises, domestic and international, attended the event. Meanwhile, a number of high-level forums were held during the expo, including a group of RCEP-related events.

The expo has been held every year in Nanning around September, since 2004. Over the past 18 years, more than 300 high-level forums relating to 40 fields, such as customs, health, and finance, were held. These brought achievements that included the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, China-ASEAN Information Port, and China-ASEAN Multimodal Transport Connectivity Alliance, effectively promoting the upgrading of China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation.

Meanwhile, the 10th Forum on China-ASEAN Technology Transfer and Collaborative Innovation was also held in Nanning from September 15 to 19. Wang Zhigang, China's minister of science and technology, said that China and ASEAN countries should further deepen cultural and educational exchanges in the science and technology sector, enhance cooperation in technology transfer, and expand cooperation in research and development.

As China and ASEAN upgraded their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership, Lim Jack Hoi, ASEAN secretary-general, said he looked forward to advancing the China-ASEAN vision for innovative and sustainable growth, especially in the fields of trade, digital technology, public health and sustainable development.

The China-ASEAN Technology Transfer Special Initiative was launched on the forum, which will involve about 1,000 industries, companies and technologies suitable for the socioeconomic development of ASEAN countries.