Prime Minister Hun Manet and other ASEAN leaders are set to attend the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Nanning, Guangxi on September 17, with Chinese Premier Li Qiang expected to deliver his remarks on the same day.
The event is scheduled to run from September 16 to 19. It will gather nearly 2,000 enterprises across a total exhibition area of 102,000sq m. Of the exhibitors, 750 are from 45 countries outside of China, said the Guangxi administration.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters on September 14 that Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Indonesian Vice-President Ma’ruf Amin, and Phumtham Wechayachai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce of Thailand, will attend the event, along with ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn.
The spokeswoman noted that in 2022, China-ASEAN trade exceeded $970 billion, an increase of 11.2 per cent year-on-year. By July this year, the accumulated two-way investment between China and ASEAN countries had exceeded $380 billion.
“As we mark its 20th anniversary, this year’s Expo is themed ‘Working Together for a Harmonious Home and a Shared Future – Promoting High-Quality Development of the Belt and Road and Building an Epicentrum of Growth’,” said Mao.
She added that China hoped the event would provide an opportunity for all participants to explore new opportunities, discuss challenges and pursue cooperation.
“We will work towards the full implementation of RCEP, promote trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation between China and ASEAN, improve regional connectivity, build an open regional economy, and promote the building of an even closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future,” she explained, referring to Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
Prime Minister Hun Manet arrived in Nanning on the afternoon of September 16 to attend the event.
After his arrival, he held talks with Liu Ning, the Communist Party of China secretary of Guangxi province.
Trade volume between Cambodia and China reached more than $8.09 billion in the first eight months of this year, an increase of 1.15 percent over the same period of last year, according to the Ministry of Information, which cited a report by the General Department of Customs and Excise.
It said Cambodian exports to China accounted for $939 million, while imports from China had reached $7.15 billion so far this year.
