By Wang Jun
Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center, October 4, 2022. File photo, not the 2026 opening ceremony. Photo: EditQ / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized; homepage thumbnails may be cropped.
The 23rd China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit officially opened on September 17 in Nanning, Guangxi. Ding Xuexiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, attended and addressed the opening ceremony before declaring the expo officially open.
In his speech, Ding emphasized that the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) serves as a vital vehicle for building a community with a shared future between both sides. Since Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed launching the construction of Version 3.0 of the FTA in November 2021, bilateral cooperation has advanced steadily with fruitful results. Ding noted that as the protocol upgrading the FTA to Version 3.0 enters into force and implementation, it will inject continuous momentum into regional economic development.
To build a higher-level China-ASEAN FTA, Ding proposed four key recommendations:
- Elevate Regional Openness: Deepen cooperation in standards and technical regulations to build an open, inclusive, and rules-based integrated regional market.
- Upgrade Trade and Investment Cooperation: Join hands to navigate global economic and trade challenges, while safeguarding the stability of regional and global industrial and supply chains.
- Deepen Engagement in Emerging Sectors: Promote the development of the regional digital economy, expand cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI) applications and green trade, and create new engines for high-quality growth.
- Enhance Connectivity Efficiency: Leverage geographic proximity to coordinate infrastructure development across railways, highways, ports, and airports, resolve cross-border logistics bottlenecks, and construct the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor to high standards.
Deputy Prime Minister of Myanmar Nyo Saw, Standing Vice Prime Minister of Vietnam Pham Gia Tuc, Standing Vice Prime Minister of Laos Saleumxay Kommasith, and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn also attended and delivered speeches at the opening ceremony.
On the afternoon of September 16, Ding met separately with Nyo Saw, Pham Gia Tuc, and Saleumxay. He reaffirmed China’s commitment to working with all parties to strengthen high-level exchanges, align development strategies, and expand practical cooperation. The visiting dignitaries commended China’s crucial role in regional development and expressed eagerness to deepen cooperation in infrastructure, trade, investment, and high-quality Belt and Road initiatives.
During his time in Guangxi, Vice Premier Ding toured the exhibition halls to interact with exhibitors. He also visited the China-ASEAN AI Application Cooperation Center and the Guangxi Key Metals Research Institute to inspect research and operations related to AI cooperation, ecological protection, and environmental governance.
Originally published by Wang Jun in Asia Horizon Review on Medium.