CAEXPO: Extending 15 Years of development to the Belt and Road Initiative

Written by Chen Libing / Translated by Zhang Xiaoyan

Since the China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) was fi rst held in 2004, its venue — Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center (NICEC), has become one of the city’s landmarks, with its unique external appearance of a hibiscus fl ower. In recent days,it takes on a new look — that is, new structures in the shape of petals that form a “front wing” and a “rear wing” are added to the rear section of the complex.

Following the design philosophy of “blooming fl owers”,the new structures will form two functional zones along with the existing facilities of NICEC. After the completion of this reconstruction and extension project,a brand-new NICEC will be better able to serve the Belt and Road Initiative and CAEXPO.

From 2004 to 2018, the 15 years that CAEXPO has gone through is also a golden period of China-ASEAN strategic partnership, which has witnessed the continuous progress of China-ASEAN relations.

Adhering to co-sponsorship and win-win outcomes to achieve “10+1＞11”

Reviewing the opening ceremony of the 1stCAEXPO in 2004, many witnesses still take delight in talking about this grand event. To reflect CAEXPO’s theme of“Friendship, Cooperation, Development, Prosperity”, a number of task forces were dispatched by the CAEXPO Secretariat to collect water from the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Yongjiang River in China, and from the mother rivers of ten ASEAN member states,with videos shot for the water collection.

China and nine ASEAN member states share the same waters. The Mekong River (called the Lancang River in the Chinese territory), known as the “Oriental Danube”,also connects China with Laos, the only landlocked country in ASEAN. Thus, water represents the best element that can reflect the long-term friendship and shared destiny of China and ASEAN. It is no surprise that when the scenes of Miss Etiquette of each ASEAN country appeared on the screen at the opening ceremony,warm applause broke out in the audience section of that corresponding country. Finally, representatives of China and the ASEAN countries together put the collected water into a crystal bottle fi rst and then into a pool, which formed a water spout to present the logo of CAEXPO.

The move not only implied the concerted efforts of the 11 countries that would produce a tremendous driving force of “10+1＞11”, but also reflected CAEXPO’s commitment to the sense of community of co-sponsorship and winwin outcomes. Since then, the image of water has been presented in various forms of rich cultural essence at the opening ceremony of each CAEXPO. At the same time,it has always been a goal of CAEXPO to uphold the sense of community of co-sponsorship and win-win outcomes and push forward China-ASEAN relations.

Guided by these principles, a mechanism of cosponsorship by 11 countries was established, under which major matters would be subject to consultation by Senior Official Meeting and Liaison Officer Meeting,providing a guarantee mechanism for cooperation in multiple areas. In 2007, the practice of Country of Honor was launched, where one ASEAN country would be the Country of Honor for each CAEXPO, and carry out colorful activities during the expo. Leaders of the Country of Honor would also attend the expo with their delegations. From 2015, CAEXPO began to conduct specialized exhibitions in Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei,extending CAEXPO’s value chain and emphasizing the philosophy of CAEXPO featuring co-sponsorship and openness and mutual benefits. These efforts have made CAEXPO a public platform that wins wide recognition and benefits all.

“Customized” for CAFTA to create business opportunities

Liangmianzhen, a national brand in China which launched the first traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)toothpaste, enjoy great popularity among Chinese consumers. Since 2013, it has become a partner of CAEXPO for fi ve consecutive years. Through CAEXPO,its products have won high praise from both domestic and international consumers, and the company has established partnership with businesses in Singapore and Malaysia,promoting TCM household products in overseas markets.

“CAEXPO is a very good platform that can bring business opportunities and offer a chance for us to communicate with and learn from other enterprises of various sectors. That is the main reason that we choose CAEXPO,” said Luo Huaiyu, Assistant to President of Liuzhou Liangmianzhen Co. Ltd, adding that through the promotion conferences of CAEXPO, the company not only found customers in Singapore and Malaysia, but also signed new agreements of cooperation with Thai and Cambodian customers at the 14thCAEXPO. He hoped that the company could have better development based on the“going global” strategy by taking advantage of CAEXPO.

In recent years, with the advancement of upgraded China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) and reduction of tariff barriers, many Chinese enterprises want to develop foreign markets in ASEAN countries. On the basis of the progress of CAFTA and the economy development and resources of China and ASEAN countries, CAEXPO has conducted a series of expos and business matching programs ranging from merchandise trade, services trade and investment cooperation, providing a practical platform for enterprises like Liangmianzhen to tap ASEAN market.

Based on complementary advantages and guided by theASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, CAEXPO highlights goods that are of huge demands and large trade volume between China and ASEAN. In accordance with theAgreement on Trade in Services, many forums and meetings have been held, such customs cooperation forums, ministerial meetings on quality supervision,inspection and quarantine, and E-commerce summits,covering the fi elds of customs, inspection and quarantine,E-commerce, cross-border fi nance. To further investment facilitation, a broad range of activities have also been conducted, including roundtable meetings on investment cooperation, investment and fundraising seminars, etc.

As a result, enterprises are able to gain more valuable business opportunities, thanks to the policy incentives brought by these events, such as tax cut, market access,reduction of barriers, cross-border settlement. According to statistics, as of 2017, CAEXPO has attracted a total of 661,000 businesspeople and exhibitors, and brought about the implementation of many projects like “Two Countries,Twin Parks” between China and Malaysia, advancing the construction and development of CAFTA and serving as a window for enterprises to “go global”.

CAEXPO Cartoon Animation & Games Exhibition 2018

Offering people-to-people exchanges and build a bridge of friendship

From April 29 to May 1, 2018, the CAEXPO Cartoon Animation & Games Exhibition 2018 was held in Nanning, featuring diverse activities ranging from exhibitions of derivatives of animation, cosplay shows, electronic sports competitions, to contests of foreign language songs of Animation, Comics and Games (ACG). The event provided a feast for ACG fans from China and ASEAN as well as a publicity platform for enterprises from both sides.

“Holding the CAEXPO Cartoon Animation & Games Exhibition is a new move to boost international cooperation and cultural and technological exchanges and innovation between China and ASEAN,” said Zhong Hong, Director General of Department of Culture of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The CAEXPO Cartoon Animation & Games Exhibition is part of efforts to strengthen China-ASEAN cultural exchanges and cooperation and people-to-people connectivity.

As a Chinese saying goes, “The key to sound relations between states lies in amity between the people.” China-ASEAN relations cannot develop without the “soft power” of bilateral cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Over the past 15 years,CAEXPO, while highlighting politics and economy,also focuses equal attention on culture. Centering around culture, tourism, public health, science and technology, environment protection, sports, poverty reduction, CAEXPO has conducted a number of programs featuring cultural and people-to-people exchanges. It has also prompted the gathering of official and private mechanisms in Nanning, such as China-ASEAN Technology Transfer Center,China-ASEAN Healthcare Cooperation Center,China-ASEAN Youth Association, and China-ASEAN Women’s Training Center, infusing rich cultural nutrition and strong spiritual power into the development of China-ASEAN relations.

In the meantime, thanks to these cultural and peopleto-people programs and mechanisms, China-ASEAN cooperation in tourism has seen fast development,with both sides being the major source of tourists mutually and the number of tourists increasing year by year. China-ASEAN educational exchanges have also been deepened. So far, the number of exchange students between China and ASEAN countries has exceeded 200,000, with about 10,000 ASEAN students studying in Guangxi, accounting for one fi fth of the total ASEAN students in China. In addition,China and ASEAN have worked together to create a number of excellent TV dramas, documentary fi lms,feature films that reflect the cultures of each other,bridging the gap of the peoples between the two sides and reinforcing mutual friendship and trust.

Expanding scope of cooperation to integrate into the global value chain

As time goes by, with a focus on China-ASEAN cooperation, CAEXPO now becomes more open to the world. Since 2014, many enterprises outside the ASEAN region have been invited to attend CAEXPO, and a special partner mechanism has been established, where countries along the belt and Road would be the special partner for each CAEXPO. In 2017, Kazakhstan, an important country along the Silk Road Economic Belt, was invited to serve as special partner of the 14thCAEXPO. The mechanism helps expand the service of CAEXPO from from“10+1” and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), to the Belt and Road Initiative,enhancing the exchanges and cooperation between China, ASEAN and other countries along the Belt and Road and creating a huge market and vast business opportunities far beyond the original 11 countries.

Besides, there will be a special exhibition area featuring the Belt and Road Initiative in the 15thCAEXPO in 2018, where enterprises from countries along the Belt and Road can display their local products, seeking convenient access to the China-ASEAN market.

“CAEXPO is a practical platform that connects the Belt and Road Initiative. It will further explore new mechanisms to connect the Belt and Road Initiative by setting up a Belt and Road exhibition area,promoting cooperation on capacity and equipment manufacturing, and inviting countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt as special partners of CAEXPO.We will work together with enterprises in countries along the Belt and Road to share the new business opportunities of the Belt and Road Initiative,” said Yang Yanyan, Deputy Secretary General of CAEXPO Secretariat.