China-Northeast Asia Expo aims to deepen trade, investment ties

Economic links strengthened, $230 billion in deals signed

The China-Northeast Asia Expo is well positioned to encourage the forging of closer international economic, investment and trade ties, according to the event organizers and participants.

Launched in 2005, the biennial event has long been facilitating cooperation among Northeast Asian economies, with this year's expo running from Sept 1 to 5 in Changchun, the capital of Jilin province in Northeast China.

The expo hosted a range of events and seminars on cutting-edge technologies in the rail transit equipment, satellites, drones, smart equipment and robots, 3-D printing and internet of things sectors.

Jilin's Party Secretary Bayin Chaolu said: "Northeast Asian countries not only share a geographical relationship, but are also experiencing deepening economic and trade ties". He said the event will bring greater vitality to regional growth.

The Northeast Asian region - grouping Russia, China, Mongolia, Japan and the Republic of Korea - has a population of 1.7 billion and generates over 20 percent of the world's GDP.

Intelligent manufacturing

The intelligent manufacturing industry will inject new impetus for global economic growth, according to experts speaking at the first Made in China 2025 Jilin forum held during the expo.

The forum comes at a time when the manufacturing world is undergoing a significant paradigm shift.

Experts predicted that this new industry approach would revolutionize how enterprises operate and interact with their customers and suppliers.

When asked the definition of intelligent manufacturing, Zhang Suixin, vice-president of Volkswagen (China) Investment, said information technology and smart devices are two key pillars.

"This round of industrial reform, in essence, is driven by the boom of information and internet technology. The carrier is a new batch of smart devices," he said.

Intelligent manufacturing will make production become "exponentially" more efficient, according to Joseph J. Salvo, director of the Industrial Internet Consortium at GE Global Research.

"The minds of man and the minds of machines will equal the value of smart manufacturing. I think all these activities will be driven by value, not just by quality," he said at the forum.

"That's why you want to work with as many people as possible, and not just focus on local issues. Your customers will be all around the world."

Innovative manufacturing technologies, coupled with new big data opportunities, will change the way that manufacturing is organized and improve links both within the supply chain and to customers, said Qu Daokui, president of Shenyang Siasun Robot & Automation.

Official data shows the past 10 sessions of the expo have attracted political leaders and 620,000 businesspeople from more than 100 countries and regions in total.

They came to the expo either to buy products made in the region, or to negotiate business with buyers and clients from other nations.

Over the past years, participants signed agreements on over 2,400 projects, with combined investment totaling approximately 1.5 trillion yuan ($230 billion).

The number of exhibition stalls has increased from 1,900 in 2005 to 2,769 in 2017.

This year, more than 59 high-level foreign officials - mainly from Russia, the ROK, Japan and Mongolia - and Chinese officials from the central government and 17 provinces and cities participated in the expo.

An additional 281 commerce associations of commerce and top executives from 133 Fortune 500 companies also attended.

In recent years, the Northeast Asia region has experienced deepening economic and trade ties, becoming one of the most dynamic regions in the world, according to Qian Keming, China's vice-minister of commerce.

In 2016, the trade volume between China and the other countries of Northeast Asia amounted to $605.9 billion, accounting for 16.4 percent of China's overall foreign trade, according to the Commerce Ministry. In the same year, these countries' combined investment in China reached about $7.85 billion, with China's total investment in the above countries also maintaining growth. Building on this progress, Qian urged all parties to explore opportunities for collaboration in sectors such as internet, high-end and intelligent manufacturing, and modern services.

Back in early the 1990s, the United Nations launched the Tumen River Area Development Project, which became the Greater Tumen Initiative linking China, Mongolia, the Republic of Korea and Russia.

Since then, the Chinese government has been making efforts to open up its northeastern provinces, with the goal of boosting the area as an engine for regional cooperation.

liumingtai@chinadaily.com.cn

Unmanned aerial vehicles are displayed at this year's China-Northeast Asia Expo held in Changchun, Jilin province.Photos By Ding Luyang / China Daily