China-ASEAN Cooperation Forging Ahead and CAEXPO Boosting Win-Win Results in the Time of COVID-19

Translated Chen Zhiying

The novel coronavirus pneumonia has been spreading throughout China and around the world since January 2020. When people believe that the winter of regional cooperation is likely to come， the General Administration of Customs of the Peoples Republic of China has released a series of encouraging data： The total trade volume between China and ASEAN topped RMB 594.11 billion yuan in the first 2 months of this year. ASEAN has surpassed the EU and historically become Chinas largest trading partner.

Under the epidemic， China and ASEAN， as powerful models of regional cooperation， have made remarkable achievements. As an important public platform for China-ASEAN cooperation， the CAEXPO bears many vision and expectations for cooperation. How can the CAEXPO advance the preparation work on the premise of epidemic prevention and control before securing a decisive victory？ And what role will the 17th CAEXPO play in 2020？ On relevant issues， Wang Lei， Director and Secretary of the Leading Party Members Group of Guangxi International Expo Affairs Bureau， Secretary-General of the CAEXPO Secretariat， and Chairman and Party Secretary （Concurrently） of Guangxi International Expo Group Co.， Ltd. received an exclusive interview with reporters of China-ASEAN Panorama Agency.

Being responsible for the local situation， and providing strong assistance

“In the prevention and control of the epidemic， the first thing we need to do is to ‘be responsible for the local situation，” Wang Lei told our reporters. It is reported that since the outbreak of the epidemic， the CAEXPO Secretariat has temporarily closed the Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center， and strictly implemented serious of measures to prevent and control the epidemic every day. Howard Jonson CAEXPO Plaza Nanning and Sky Square Shopping Center also followed the same measures， including cancelling dining-in， and encouraging package and take-out service， etc.

Thanks to strict measures， at present， Guangxi International Expo Affairs Bureau and Guangxi International Expo Group havent had one case of infection. They have truly “been responsible for the local situation”.

In addition to its own responsibility， the CAEXPO Secretariat also played its own advantages and contributed to the front-line work in Guangxi.

Before and after the Spring Festival in 2020， the CAEXPO Secretariat fully played the advantages of frequent external contacts and wide contacts， actively collected information on anti-epidemic materials through various channels and provided the message to epidemic prevention and control headquarters amid Chinas severe epidemic situation and the shortage of related materials. Up to now， through about 71 business associations and enterprises in 18 countries and regions， the CAEXPO Secretariat has collected about 2.37 million pieces of medical material procurement information， including masks， protective clothing， goggles， guns for temperature monitoring， etc.， and contacted the Guangxi Chamber of Commerce in Poland to donate 350 sets of protective clothing.

Besides， the CAEXPO Secretariat and Guangxi International Expo Group also personally purchased anti-epidemic materials worth more than RMB 460，000 yuan from Brazil， Poland， South Korea and other places， including 5，000 KF94 surgical masks， 80，000 disposable surgical masks and 375 sets of protective suits， and donated them to Guangxi epidemic prevention and control headquarters and the Consulate of ASEAN countries in Nanning， effectively alleviating the shortage of related materials. China-ASEAN Panorama Agency which is subordinate to the CAEXPO Secretariat also made full use of relevant channels to donate masks， disinfectants and other anti-epidemic materials to relevant departments and cities in Guangxi.

Wang Lei said： “Although the Expo Bureau is not in the front line of anti-epidemic， it has always had a place in our hearts. We hope to do our parts for the prevention and control work of the whole Guangxi and even the whole country. ”

CAEXPO will be held as scheduled with booming booth demand

On March 2， the CAEXPO Secretariat announced that the 17th CAEXPO will be held in Nanning from September 18 to 21， 2020. The early release of this information undoubtedly gave a reassurance to global merchants who plan to participate in the exhibition.

During the outbreak， preparations for the CAEXPO never stopped. Facing the epidemic， the CAEXPO Secretariat actively carried out the non-contact business invitation and exhibition work， and conducted business contacts by using modern technology. Wang Lei said， according to the feedback received at present， the business invitation and exhibition work of the CAEXPO has had a good start：

First， the enthusiasm of domestic enterprises to participate in the exhibition doesnt reduce. In particular， domestic well-known cross-border E-commerce platforms and other E-commerce enterprises of various industries with large influence and wide audience show strong interest to the CAEXPO.

Second， the demand for ASEAN booths continues to boom， exceeding that of the previous one. It is reported that the co-organizers of Laos， the theme country of the CAEXPO， have confirmed to use the D5 Pavilion of Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center alone for exhibition， with the exhibition scale reaching a new record. Vietnam and Cambodia proposed to increase the number of booth. Indonesia， Malaysia， Myanmar， Thailand and other co-organizers said they would continue to reserve the whole exhibition hall. The booth reservation of other ASEAN countries is also being confirmed in succession.

Third， the zeal of countries outside the region has not decreased. South Korean and Australian exhibition organizations， Polish enterprises and technology departments all said they would continue to participate.

“The active participation of exhibitors fully shows the importance of the CAEXPO as a national key exhibition， reflects the trust of ASEAN countries and countries outside the region in our ability to hold and run the CAEXPO on time， and demonstrates the confidence of relevant countries in Chinas successful containment of the epidemic， the smooth restoration of production and living order， and sustainable economic development，” said Wang Lei.

Highlights： health cooperation forum

Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers Meeting on Coronavirus Disease （COVID-19） was held in Vientiane， Laos on February 20. This is the first Intergovernmental meeting between China and ASEAN since the outbreak of the epidemic. All parties agreed to “set up a sub forum during the 3rd China-ASEAN Health Cooperation Forum in 2020 to conduct in-depth discussion on the epidemic prevention and control” in the Statement of the Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers Meeting on the Coronavirus Disease （COVID-19） issued by the conference.

After the meeting， Chinas State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi announced to the media that the 2020 China-ASEAN Health Cooperation Forum， will invite all ministers of health to sum up the experience and achievements of the fight against the epidemic. “Public health is a common cause across national boundaries. China is willing to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN in this area and inject new connotation into China-ASEAN relations，” said Wang Yi.

“The Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers Meeting on Coronavirus Disease （COVID-19） confirmed to increase the content of health and epidemic prevention in the Health Cooperation Forum under the framework of the CAEXPO， fully reflecting the influence of the CAEXPO on the China-ASEAN public affairs，” said Wang Lei. The implementation of the Statement of the Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers Meeting on the Coronavirus Disease （COVID-19） will be an important part of the 17th CAEXPO.

“This year， we will work with relevant units to plan and run the 3rd China-ASEAN Health Cooperation Forum and sub forum， to promote the establishment of a regional and international cooperation mechanism for the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus pneumonia， and will also organize a series of activities in combination with the Year of China-ASEAN Digital Economic Cooperation，” said Wang Lei.

Boosting cooperation confidence and economic recovery

With the alleviation of the epidemic， economic development will return to the track. Wang Lei said that after the outbreak， the exhibition activities will recover quickly， and ASEAN countries and domestic provinces， regions and cities will still actively participate in the 17th CAEXPO. More importantly， the recovery of exhibition activities as a service industry will drive the economic recovery of other industries.

“On the one hand， we are studying how to make up for the losses in the first half of the year through the second half. For example， by actively planning some activities， we will contribute to the resumption of work and economic recovery of enterprises after the outbreak is lifted. On the other hand， the original exhibition of Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center will be arranged scientifically in the second half of the year， so as to create more opportunities for enterprises， help them to solve difficulties， innovate business opportunities and open up international market，” said Wang Lei.

In addition， in order to ensure the smooth participation of domestic and foreign merchants when the 17th CAEXPO is held， the CAEXPO Secretariat will pay close attention to the trend of the global epidemic， prepare multiple solutions and take different plans and measures according to the changes of the epidemic.

With the determination and action of all countries in the world to fight the epidemic， the “spring” of the economy is not far away. It is believed that as an international comprehensive exhibition jointly organized by China and ASEAN， the CAEXPO will greatly boost the confidence of China-ASEAN cooperation and even foreign cooperation， and play its unique role in helping social and economic recovery with the enthusiasm of global businessmen， the participation of China and ASEAN， and the careful planning of the CAEXPO Secretariat.