China-Northeast Asia Expo promotes investment, trade, links

Preparations for the 11th China-Northeast Asia Expo in Changchun, capital of Northeast China's Jilin province, is going smoothly and as planned, according to the organizers.

The expo will be held from Sept 1-5 at the Changchun International Convention & Exhibition Center. A total of 2,725 exhibition booths have been confirmed and the expo's space was fully registered as of late July, according to the expo's organizing committee.

All the preparation works are now in the final stages. Designing and construction of the exhibition spaces are underway. As of late August, 26 forums and 12 promotional events concerning the expo on the city level have been held. The second World Jilin Entrepreneurs Convention will also be held during the expo.

The Ninth High-level Forum on Northeast Asian Cooperation, to be launched along with the expo on Sept 1, expects 1,200 participants, more than 60 percent of whom are from overseas, according to the organizers.

The theme of this year's forum is "promoting more convenient investment, free trade, boosting development of connectivity and diversity in the Northeast Asian region". High-level officials from the Republic of Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Croatia and Zambia have confirmed their attendance.

The first Northeast Asia Expo was held in September 2005. It was intended as an effort to expand regional cooperation and accelerate rejuvenation of the nation's old industrial base in Northeast China.

The expo was approved by China's central government. Presently, it is co-sponsored by China's Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the People's Government of Jilin.

"The China-Northeast Asia Expo has developed into an important channel of dialogue and communication between governments in the area, and an important platform for regional economic cooperation," said Li Jinxiu, vice-governor of Jilin province, at a news conference promoting the expo in June. "It has also become a crucial passageway for the countries' cultural exchange, and a carrier of the Tumen River Area's cooperative development. Its influence as an important window of opening-up has been growing."

Zhou Jianping, head of the Department of Northeastern Revitalization of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that the expansion of opening-up to the outside world is a major part of Northeast China's effort to improve its operational system, and a key point the central government has emphasized in the revitalization of the region.

"The Northeast China region, with nearby borders and being by the sea, has unique geographical advantages, and is well positioned for opening-up and connecting with other countries of Northeast Asia," Zhou said. "The National Development and Reform Commission will promote the region's emergence in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, in an effort to transform Northeast China into an important window of opening-up to the north and a pivot of cooperation in Northeast Asia."