(Photo : The companies attending the 10th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning)

A total of 2,300 companies from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries and China are attending the 10^th China-ASEAN Expo that opened today in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang officially opened the four-day expo that will run until September 6. The expo's attendance this year is 2.7 per cent more than last year's attendance, the organizers said.

The expo also features a total of 4,600 booths, with nearly half of the booths being occupied by foreign delegates who want to take part in the huge business opportunities that the expo brings, said China's Ministry of Commerce.

China-ASEAN Free Trade Area

During the opening of the said expo, Premi Li urged participating countries to support an upgraded version of the free trade area between the ASEAN countries and China for further economic trade cooperation.

Li said China and ASEAN can discuss important issues such as lowering of tariffs, cutting non-tariff measures, promoting investment openness, and holding discussions on service trade commitments.

The Chinese Premier stressed that China is willing and ready to sign long-term trade agreements with member countries of the ASEAN, specifically on agricultural products. He also said that China is also willing to cooperate with ASEAN in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Model of Friendly Cooperation

Initiated in 2004, the China-ASEAN Expo has become a major platform to promote bilateral trade and business relationships between China and ASEAN countries. ASEAN is composes of South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei, and Laos.

Now on its 10^th year, the China ASEAN expo has become a model of good neighborliness and friendly cooperation, said Li.

According to Li, China and the ASEAN countries have the ability to build a diamond decade as bilateral trade volume expanded fivefold the past 10 years. He said that the cooperation can further result to economic development for both parties as China and ASEAN countries have common goals and development visions.