China-ASEAN Expo spotlights digital innovation as trade partnership deepens

The 22nd China–ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) opens in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sept. 17, 2025. (Photo provided to People's Daily Online)

The 22nd China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) opened on Sept. 17 in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with foreign leaders and senior officials describing the trade fair as crucial for economic integration and strengthening strategic ties between China and Southeast Asia.

"Over the past two decades, CAEXPO has become more than a showcase of trade and investment. It has grown into a catalyst for deeper integration, innovation and long-term growth," said Kao Kim Hourn, secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

He cited last year's record 3,300 exhibitors and growing ASEAN participation as evidence of the expo's role as a premier cross-border business platform.

Kao emphasized the importance of the China-ASEAN partnership, calling it "not only a growth engine for the region but also a stabilizing force for global trade and investment flows."

The official also highlighted the latest upgrade to the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, which he said represents "a new chapter in our partnership" by focusing cooperation on technology and innovation.

"It sends a strong signal that ASEAN and China remain committed to upholding a rules-based trading system, even amid rising geopolitical tensions and global uncertainties," he said.

Myanmar, this year's featured country, also emphasized the importance of the expo. Prime Minister U Nyo Saw said CAEXPO has strengthened China-ASEAN strategic ties while creating a vital platform for trade, investment and tourism cooperation. He added that the expo contributes significantly to developing the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof called CAEXPO "a pivotal platform for promoting trade and investment, fostering mutual trust, strengthening regional linkages, and delivering tangible benefits to the peoples of ASEAN and China."

He emphasized that the 22nd CAEXPO, with its focus on digital intelligence and innovation, came at "a defining moment" as ASEAN and China concluded negotiations for version 3.0 of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, underscoring a shared commitment to supply chain connectivity and digital transformation.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang called the annual expo and summit a symbol of growing China-ASEAN economic ties over more than two decades.

He emphasized China's role in regional cooperation and prosperity, noting that Vietnam ranks as China's fourth-largest trading partner while Chinese investment in Vietnam has increased sharply in recent years.

He added that strategic alignment and transport connectivity, particularly railway cooperation, were advancing rapidly, which would pave the way for smoother flows of goods and people between China, Vietnam and ASEAN at large.

Cambodia's Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Vongsey Vissoth, representing Prime Minister Hun Manet, praised the expo for "deepening friendship, peace and cooperation."

"It underscored the urgent need to build a region that is both prosperous and peaceful by leveraging digital technology, innovation, and trade," he said.

Vissoth described the upgraded China-ASEAN Free Trade Area as "a new era in our regional economic partnership" that will expand market access and foster cooperation in digital technology, green energy, supply chains and trade facilitation.

"Cambodia remains committed to working with ASEAN partners and China to ensure effective implementation of ACFTA 3.0, harnessing its full potential for our region's benefit. More importantly, it reflects our shared aspiration to uphold an open, fair and rules-based multilateral trading system," he said.

"We can build an even closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future; one rooted in peace, prosperity, and shared destiny," Vissoth added.

来源：人民网
编辑：熊睿
审核：刘毅、甘晶莹
监制：郑颖