18th China-ASEAN Expo concludes with record deals

A total of 179 deals worth a record-high combined value of over 300 billion yuan (about $46.59 billion) were signed during the 18th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) and the concurrent China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (CABIS).

The total value marks an increase of 13.7 percent over the previous edition, showed data released by the expo secretariat at the closing ceremony.

Themed "Sharing Opportunities Created by the New Land-Sea Corridor, Building the China-ASEAN Community with a Shared Future," this year's expo aimed to deepen all-around cooperation in trade, economy and other fields between China and ASEAN and consolidate the high-level dialogue platform.

Kicking off online and offline on Friday in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, the four-day expo attracted enterprises from more than 40 countries and regions, with special events to mark the 30th anniversary of China-ASEAN dialogue relations.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said via video that the 18th CAEXPO bears testimony to the great success of China-ASEAN dialogue relations, which have "brought about development in all fields and prosperity for the nations and the people of ASEAN and China."

"This year's expo provides an important platform to enhance trade and investment opportunities between ASEAN and China during this crucial time of economic recovery, as well as positively contribute to the long-standing relationship between our two sides," ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi said via video link at the expo's opening ceremony on Friday.

A total of 148 economic and trade promotion activities and 26 high-level forums took place during this year's expo, covering industrial chains, industrial capacity cooperation, customs and health.

With an exhibition area of more than 100,000 square meters, this year's expo set up 5,400 booths for offline exhibitors. Over 1,500 enterprises participated in the in-person exhibitions.

The exhibition area for foreign countries was about 20,000 square meters, up 13.4 percent year-on-year, said the organizer.

The 19th China-ASEAN Expo is preliminarily scheduled for Sept 16 to 19, 2022, with Malaysia as the Country of Honor, said Wang Lei, secretary-general of the expo secretariat.

Xinhua contributed to the story.