ASEAN countries are located at the intersection of land and sea in the Belt and Road Initiative, and are key areas for high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. In the past 10 years since the Belt and Road Initiative was put forward, from economic and trade exchanges to cultural exchanges, China-ASEAN Expo’s circle of friends has become larger and larger, and its outward attraction has become stronger and stronger.
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The 20th China-ASEAN Expo came to an end not long ago, but the vision of China and ASEAN countries meeting challenges together and building a closer China-ASEAN destiny community is inspiring people to move forward.
"This year, the Chairman of the Supreme Leader proposed to build a closer China-ASEAN destiny community and jointly build ‘ Belt and Road ’ The 10th anniversary of the initiative is also the 20th anniversary of the founding of China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (hereinafter referred to as "China-ASEAN Expo" and "Summit" respectively). China — Wei Zhaohui, Secretary-General of the ASEAN Expo Secretariat, said that since China-ASEAN Expo and the Summit were held for 20 years, the bilateral trade volume between China and ASEAN has grown at an average annual rate of more than 13%, which has promoted the two sides to become each other’s largest trading partners and the most active partners in mutual investment, and helped to build a new pattern of China-ASEAN opening up at a higher level.
According to Xu Ningning, executive director of the China-ASEAN Business Council, ASEAN countries are located in the land-sea intersection of the "Belt and Road" and are key areas for building the "Belt and Road" with high quality. In the 10 years since the "Belt and Road Initiative" was put forward, China-ASEAN Expo has closely followed China — The needs of the times of ASEAN cooperation, constantly expand the functions of the platform, and promote the implementation of China — A series of consensus documents, joint statements and action plans reached by ASEAN have deepened China’s trade, investment, interconnection and regional cooperation with ASEAN countries, which is also the way to China-ASEAN Expo’s enduring success.
Inter-regional complementary resources promote active investment and trade.
The theme of the 20th China-ASEAN Expo is "Building a Home with Harmony, Destiny and Common Future — — Push ‘ Belt and Road ’ High-quality development and building an economic growth center. " At the meeting, many exhibitors expressed that they felt the dividends brought by the complementary market resources and factor flow between China and ASEAN. Zhu Qiugen, from Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, talks about tea at the exhibition during the day and packs tea for customers from all over the world in the hotel at night.
This year is his second time in China-ASEAN Expo, and he found that many tea lovers used to look at the price but now at the quality. "More and more customers have found me for the fragrance of tea, and people who understand the good products have found it. This change is more gratifying than how much tea I have sold."
Zhu Qiugen deals in ancient tea from Laos. The local tea garden employs local people to pick fresh tea and process it into "wool", and then it is transported to Xishuangbanna via China-Laos Railway for further processing to make a series of products such as tea cakes and tea bricks. Zhu Qiugen also founded the brand of "Laos Ancient Rhyme Tea Industry".
In recent years, thanks to the convenience of transportation and policies, Zhu Qiugen went deep into the country of origin and built a relatively complete industrial chain from picking, research and development, production and sales. "Let customers drink a cup of ancient tree tea that really comes from the mountains, without middlemen." In this way, the quality and cost have been well controlled.
The tea consumption market in China is huge, and the demand for high-quality tea has become a trend. Zhu Qiugen thinks that tea is a gentle lifestyle and a product that pursues quality of life. However, the domestic resources for picking ancient tree tea are limited, and some merchants have false propaganda and shoddy to some extent, which makes many consumers hesitate to buy.
In 2015, Zhu Qiugen just arrived in Laos, and he was doing hotel business at that time, but soon the local ancient tree tea fragrance caught his attention. In Laos, the unique and closed natural environment creates the good quality of Laos ancient tree tea, but these teas are mostly sold as agricultural products. "Laos has raw materials, and China has a market, so the connection naturally arises." Zhu Qiugen said.
With the opening of China-Laos Railway, Zhu Qiugen’s tea business has more convenient transportation conditions. If the tea is to be sold to Nanning market, Zhu Qiugen will choose to go by sea through Vietnam, which is "more cost-effective".
Guangxi is the only land-sea connecting region between China and ASEAN. The coastal, border and riverside areas of China-ASEAN Industrial Cooperation Zone are the frontier and window of Guangxi’s opening to the outside world. Relying on the existing parks in Nanning, Beihai, Fangchenggang, Qinzhou, Yulin, Baise and Chongzuo, Guangxi has integrated the construction of China-ASEAN Industrial Cooperation Zone, creating a development pattern of "one city, one area, one park". At present, many areas in the cooperation zone have achieved seamless traffic connection with ASEAN countries. For example, Chongzuo area is 180 kilometers away from Hanoi and Nanning, the capital of Vietnam, and there are four national first-class ports around it, which is the most convenient land international passage from China to Indo-China Peninsula.
"In July this year, Liuzhou Economic and Trade Delegation and 32 key enterprises went to Southeast Asia to carry out economic and trade exchange activities." Yao Fang, deputy director of the Management Committee of Liuzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone, said that the well-known domestic new energy automobile brands with factories in Liuzhou have actively gone abroad, and now they have sales markets in 72 countries and regions around the world.
The vigorous market demand drives the pace of transportation infrastructure construction. Sima Zhe, senior economist of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and head of the ecosystem of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, said that in 2021, the AIIB provided 300 million US dollars to support the improvement project of border connectivity in Chongzuo, Guangxi, which improved the efficiency of cross-border connectivity around Shuolong Port and strengthened the economic and trade activities between China and Viet Nam.
In terms of commodity trading, the exchanges between Guangxi and ASEAN have become increasingly close. Guangxi is rich in commodity resources, with the output of white sugar, wood and raw silk ranking first in the country, and the output of alumina, pigs, pulp, Chinese herbal medicines and non-ferrous metals ranking first in the country. At the same time, Guangxi is also an important import port for ASEAN-specific commodities such as wood, non-ferrous metals, oil and gas, coal and fruits.
Li Kaizhou, deputy director of the local financial supervision bureau of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said that in recent years, Guangxi has seized green opportunities, deepened cooperation with ASEAN, built a pilot free trade zone with high quality, and actively created a convenient place for domestic and international dual-cycle markets. The construction of new land and sea channels in the west has been accelerating. From January to July this year, Guangxi’s import and export to ASEAN was 188.08 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 71.6%.
Adhere to joint business and win-win sharing.
Wei Zhaohui, Secretary-General of China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat, said that since the China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Investment Summit were held 20 years ago, 196 Chinese and foreign leaders, more than 4,100 ministerial-level VIPs and heads of international organizations attended, which was accompanied by friendly relations between China and ASEAN and grew together with the construction of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.
"China-ASEAN Expo has been successfully held for 20 years in a row, thanks to the unique exhibition mode. This is the successful password for China-ASEAN Expo to do something new and better." Wei Zhaohui introduced.
Adhere to business cooperation and win-win sharing, adhere to the principle of not making profits for ASEAN countries, respect ASEAN’s opinions on major issues, and give priority to meeting ASEAN’s needs in terms of booth arrangement. In this China-ASEAN Expo, the scale and proportion of ASEAN exhibitions remain the largest in China International Exhibition, and seven countries including Indonesia, Malaysia and Viet Nam have resumed their pavilions and restored ASEAN’s "Charming City" exhibition area.
Wei Zhaohui introduced that in all aspects of exhibition preparation, we should respect the ASEAN way, take care of ASEAN wishes, and always adhere to the value concept of "10+1>11". The ministers of economy and trade of China and 10 ASEAN governments and the ASEAN Secretary-General will serve as co-directors of the organizing committee, the directors of departments in charge of various countries will serve as deputy secretaries-general, and the directors will serve as liaison officers. Major issues will be discussed by the organizing committee meetings and senior officials meetings.
"International Friendship City Entering Dongbo" is also a highlight of the exhibition in recent years. According to the data of Foreign Affairs Office of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, at present, Guangxi has concluded 128 pairs of international sister cities with 39 countries, ranking fourth in the country. During this visit to China-ASEAN Expo, more than 30 sister cities from nearly 20 countries participated in the exhibition with their own special products.
"Before, our market was mainly concentrated in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai. I never thought that the products could radiate to the inland of China and even ASEAN countries." Hong Yongwang, representing Zaragoza, Spain, said that Zaragoza and Yulin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are international sister cities. Entrusted by the Zaragoza municipal government, Hong Yongwang brought more than 160 products including red wine, ham and olive oil to the site in China-ASEAN Expo.
Last year, the double-deck sinking square of Nahong Interchange Station of Nanning Metro, designed and built jointly by Nanning and Crema, Italy — — Friendship City Metro Plaza was officially completed, becoming the first subway station space in China that was fully decorated and designed by International Friendship City. At this year’s China-ASEAN Expo, exhibitor Zhang Xiaowei brought a painting entitled "Table Culture" to the scene to explain the Italian wine culture to the audience, and the author of this painting, Marilisa Leon, is the designer of the subway station space. Stephania Bonaldi, mayor of Crema, Italy, commented: "The design of the square is closely related to the theme of the Silk Road, which has brought the cultural ties between China and Italy closer and the two countries and peoples closer."
Institutional opening stimulates new kinetic energy of cooperation
From economic and trade exchanges to cultural exchanges, China-ASEAN Expo’s circle of friends is getting bigger and bigger, and its outward attraction is getting stronger and stronger. In the process of cooperation between China and ASEAN countries, many institutional and mechanistic modes of cooperation and dialogue have gradually taken shape.
During this year’s China-ASEAN Expo, a side event on the theme of "Institutional Opening: A New Pattern of Regional Economic Development" was held for the first time, and the "ASEAN National Standardization Cooperation and Exchange Center" was officially unveiled. The ASEAN cross-border e-commerce digital intelligence service platform and the e-commerce exchange center of the digital economy industrial park were announced to be open.
According to customs statistics, from January to August this year, the total import and export value of China to countries that jointly built the Belt and Road Initiative reached 12.62 trillion yuan, up 3.6% year-on-year, of which food trade reached 553.82 billion yuan, up 10.4% compared with the same period of last year and 162% compared with the same period of 2013. On the eve of the opening of China-ASEAN Expo, the Nanning Declaration on Customs Food Safety Cooperation on the Belt and Road was issued, and all parties signed the articles of association of the cooperation mechanism.
The perfection of the mechanism and articles of association aims at more convenient, long-term and stable factor flow. It is the consensus of many enterprises that "there is vitality when there is mobility, and there is market when there is mobility".
Last year, Guangxi Xinzhong Industrial Investment Co., Ltd. cooperated with the secretariat of China-ASEAN Expo to build a China-ASEAN special commodity gathering center. He Yan, the company’s deputy general manager, hopes that after participating in China-ASEAN Expo, economic and trade activities will continue for a long time through 17 offline pavilions and online platforms, and continuous economic and trade exchanges will take place with ASEAN countries in 365 days.
The international situation is complex and changeable, but the potential of the ASEAN market is constantly being released. "The number of ASEAN regional offices has grown particularly fast, exceeding our growth rate in China." Through this detail, Bo Yu, managing partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., found that the ASEAN market is being regarded as a growth point in the future, both in China and the world.
Bo Yu further analyzed that people value the population and future growth of ASEAN, and the population structure is relatively young. He believed that Guangxi should make good use of the role of "bridgehead".
As an Indonesian enterprise, Jinguang Group has been rooted in China for more than 30 years. Zhai Jingli, vice president of Jinguang Paper (China) Investment Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Jinguang Group, believes that enterprises can make use of the cumulative rule of regional origin of RCEP and the advantage of the shortest and most convenient industrial supporting distance between Guangxi and ASEAN to expand the ASEAN market and play a good "ASEAN brand".
At present, some ASEAN countries have many environmental problems, such as soil degradation, water shortage and air pollution, which have affected local agricultural production and tourism and damaged local economic development to some extent. With the increasing demand for environmental protection in ASEAN countries, China’s environmental protection industry has gradually entered the ASEAN market. Hong Tao, director and professor of business economics research at Beijing Technology and Business University, pointed out in the China-ASEAN Forum on Innovation and Development of Commodity Trading that the effective implementation of RCEP has provided new impetus and cooperation foundation for promoting green recovery of regional economy, low-carbon development and global economic recovery, and reduced the cost of environmental protection industry in China.
In the past 20 years, the cooperation between China and ASEAN in the field of energy and electricity has been equally fruitful. By the end of August this year, China Southern Power Grid had been connected with the power grids of ASEAN countries through more than 10 circuits of 110 kV and above, achieving a total cross-border two-way power trade of nearly 70 billion kWh, of which clean energy accounted for over 90%. Hu Tianxiang of China-ASEAN Expo and china huadian Guangxi Company introduced that china huadian has invested in 9 projects under construction in ASEAN, with an installed capacity of 4.66 million kilowatts. In Cambodia, china huadian is the largest foreign power generation operator in Cambodia with an installed capacity of 1.038 million kilowatts under construction.
RCEP has entered a new stage of full entry into force and implementation, constantly releasing the strategic potential of economy and trade. Zhou Shi, a researcher and deputy director of the Research Office of the Market and Price Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, believes that the import and export of Hunan and ASEAN countries in China increased by more than 70% in the year when RCEP was implemented, and the import and export of Guangxi to ASEAN countries also increased by 71.6% from January to July this year.
In the face of the current complicated and changeable international situation, many exhibitors realized that China and ASEAN are opportunities for mutual development and have great potential for cooperation. China was the first big country to sign and join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. In 2021, China and ASEAN upgraded their bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
Jiangsu Furen Group’s booth area in the 20th China-ASEAN Expo was not large, but the personnel in charge of market, operation and technology all came to the scene in order to better understand the ASEAN market and enterprises. In 2014, Jiangsu Furen Group held Jiangsu Xuzhou Forging Machine Group Co., Ltd., and two years later, it successfully acquired German EBU Forming Technology Co., Ltd. "This also marks that China Press has begun to rank among the world’s advanced manufacturing." Li Wei, deputy general manager of Xuforging Group, said that due to the rapid development of Thailand’s automobile industry in recent years, many internationally renowned automobile companies have invested and built factories in Thailand, and the export of intelligent forging equipment of Xuforging Group to Thailand has also increased by 20%-30%.
"The ASEAN market is becoming a new strategic growth point, especially in terms of labor structure, operating costs and market potential. The implementation of RCEP has also provided us with a stable and efficient supply chain network." Li Wei is full of expectations for the development of enterprises in the ASEAN market and the prospect of international cooperation. "We will also continue to enhance the technological breakthrough capability of intelligent manufacturing and better go abroad." (Zhongqing Daily Zhongqing Net Trainee Reporter Wang Junli Reporter Xie Yang Intern Zheng Quan)