On Sunday, the four-day China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (CABIS) were concluded in the city of Nanning, in Guangxi Zhuang province in China. This year saw the participation of 108 companies from 22 countries, with most countries also participating in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Several who were unable to attend the physical exhibition attended the online “Cloud CAEXPO”. The expo facilitated the signing of 86 investment cooperation projects, with a total investment volume of $40 billion dollars.
In line with the pandemic’s effect on global businesses and China’s diplomatic approach, this year’s CAEXPO’s theme was titled “Building the Belt and Road, Strengthening Digital Economy Cooperation”. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year saw a 43.6% rise in the number of projects signed compared to last year’s expo, with over 85% of total investment projects signed in the fields of health, big data, logistics, new manufacturing, new materials, new energy and finance. As more foreign companies attempt to expand their business by entering the Chinese market, this is recorded to be the highest increase since the first expo. With the pandemic halting most in-person business activities around the world, this year’s expo also saw a steep rise in business initiatives in the digital sphere, as governments and businesses try to reinvigorate their economies through cross-border e-commerce, including live streaming sales, online shops, and sub-applications on mobile devices.
The tone for the event was set by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who delivered the expo’s opening address on Friday. He stressed on four suggestions that would help in revitalizing the slump in the Asian economy. He said that first, “we need to enhance strategic mutual trust and further synergize our development plans”. Second, Asia needs to “elevate economic and trade cooperation and facilitate an early and full recovery of the regional economy”. Third, nations must “enhance innovation in science and technology and deepen cooperation on the digital economy”. And finally, there exists a need to “strengthen cooperation against COVID-19 and enhance capacity building in public health”. Referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, Xi also added that China continued “to regard ASEAN as a priority in its neighbourhood diplomacy and a key region in high-quality Belt and Road cooperation” and also that China supported ASEAN in community-building, its centrality in East Asian cooperation, and in its playing a bigger role in building an open and inclusive regional architecture.
This year’s CAEXPO and summit coincided with the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, the China-ASEAN Year of Digital Economy Cooperation. Additionally, the signing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2018 and the landmark Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in November—which includes the 10 ASEAN members, and five other signatories, including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand—have contributed to increased optimism in businesses across the region and about the potential of future growth. The RCEP, in particular, connects about 30% of the world’s population, and could potentially add $209 billion annually to world incomes, and $500 billion to world trade by 2030.
CAEXPO is hailed by as a lucrative platform that offers abundant international exposure in the Asia-Pacific region at large; it is hailed for its ability to expand business’ commercial contacts, provide opportunities to various big and small enterprises for cooperation and communication, and help solicit greater business opportunities that help in establishing new regional partnerships. The next expo is scheduled to be held on September 10-13, 2021, with Laos continuing to be the Country of Honor and Pakistan acting as the Special Partner Country.
China-ASEAN Sign $40 Billion Worth of Deals, Focus on Digital Economy, Health, and Energy
The China-ASEAN Expo concluded with the signing of 86 investment projects, which were largely centred around the theme of the modernization of the countries' economies.
December 1, 2020
SOURCE: CAEXPO