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ASEAN officials call for deepening regional cooperation
The 17th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) which concluded yesterday saw ASEAN officials and businessmen call for deepening regional cooperation and free trade.
“The signing of the landmark Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s biggest trade pact, will further facilitate free trade,” said senior ASEAN officials and businessmen.
CAEXPO was held starting November 27 in Nanning, the capital city of south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It featured a ‘Belt and Road’ exhibition area, online trade and investment promotion activities, as well as high-level dialogues to promote greater participation of RCEP members in the construction of the Belt and Road.
Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta Romana said the CAEXPO represents a platform “to further deepen cooperation and increase trade volume so that we can maintain this trajectory of closer economic and trade cooperation. This is a significant opportunity to deepen cooperation, particularly in trade and economy between China and the Philippines.
“The RCEP means bigger trading opportunities. It also helps streamline the trading rules of different countries. All of this will contribute to more trade, more development and more improvement in people’s livelihood,” he said.
Romana also praised this year’s online expo as “an example of how to conduct a trade expo amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” adding that “it shows China’s confidence in being capable of containing the virus and proceeding with the trade expo to promote economic recovery at the same time.”
Vice President of the Bangkok-based Charoen Pokphand Group, Zeng Jingsong, also hailed the CAEXPO as a key platform that brings more opportunities for cooperation and communication, and allows various enterprises to establish partnership in the region.
He believes the platform facilitates exchanges among governments and enterprises on their understanding of each other’s markets, business strategies and development policies.
SingCham Guangxi Management Committee Chairman Low Boon Tian said CAEXPO has brought a host of opportunities to Singapore companies, particularly in the fields of infrastructure, trade and logistics, to tap into markets in Southeast Asia.
He believes more Singapore companies will increase investments in China, especially as the country’s business environment has improved substantially.
As a concrete fruit of the China-ASEAN cooperation, the annual CAEXPO has played a vital role in strengthening the China-ASEAN relationship, said Consul General of Thailand in Nanning Benjamas Tanvetyanont. With this year’s expo held both online and offline, she hopes online and offline events will help spur (regional) economic recovery. With this year’s expo highlighting digital economy, online exhibitions will also help enterprises in the region find more business opportunities.
The robust trade volume between China and ASEAN so far is a testament to the enormous growth potential between the two sides, especially in trade and investment, she said.
China-ASEAN bilateral trade volume reached CNY3.79 trillion in the first 10 months of the year, accounting for 14.6 per cent of China’s foreign trade, up seven per cent from the same period last year, according to the General Administration of Customs.
Minister of Indonesian Embassy in China Dino R Kusnadi spoke highly of the digital Silk Road, which he believes will be “a solid base” for mutually beneficial cooperation between China and ASEAN. Such a new mechanism is needed to boost the China-ASEAN relations to be sustainable and grow further.
Meanwhile, the China-ASEAN Production Capacity and Investment Cooperation Forum was held in Nanning, Guangxi on November 27.
Participants included Brunei Darussalam Ambassador to China Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Pahlawan Colonel (Rtd) Dato Paduka Haji Abdu’r Rahmani bin Dato Paduka Haji Basir as well as representatives of embassies and consulates of Asean member countries, South Korea, and Belgium in China.
The forum carried the theme Deepen Production Capacity Cooperation and Address Common challenges. Participants matched the demands for cooperation and shared experience and perspectives on cooperation in areas including industrial chain and supply chain, digital economy, environmental protection, and fight against COVID-19.
The forum forged a platform for deepening cooperation in production capacity and investment between China and ASEAN member countries and co-addressing COVID-19 challenges.
Diplomatic envoys of ASEAN member countries in China expressed support for the production capacity and investment cooperation, spoke highly of the positive role of production capacity and investment cooperation in advancing regional economic development, introduced the economic development and industrial development demands in their countries.
They also put forward views and suggestions on jointly addressing the challenges of COVID-19 and stabilising social and economic development.
Representatives of domestic and foreign enterprises and financial institutions including Thai Chia Tai Group, China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation, Silk Road Fund, China Resources Group, SUSUN Group, SF Express Group, and Guangxi Liugong Group delivered remarks at the forum.
The forum was attended by 150 representatives from Chinese government departments, financial institutions, enterprises, and think tanks, ASEAN member countries’ diplomatic envoys to China, and enterprises and investment promotion agencies in China.
Source: https://borneobulletin.com.bn/2020/12/asean-officials-call-for-deepening-regional-cooperation/