The State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China held the 15th Anniversary of the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership and a press conference for the China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business & Investment Summit in Beijing on July 17, outlining the highlights of and preparations for the expo and summit.

The expo, with a theme of "Jointly Building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and the China-ASEAN Community of Innovation", will open on September 12 in Nanning. It will showcase innovation outcomes and new trends in innovation cooperation to inject new power into the China-ASEAN strategic partnership. 

A press conference for China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business & Investment Summit is held in Beijing on July 17. 

This year marks the 15th anniversary of that partnership. In the past 15 years, China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation has achieved significant results. The expo has played an important role in pushing forward trade and investment facilitation to serve the construction of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.

Exhibitions held during the 15th CAEXPO will be substantial. Chinese exhibits will highlight informatization, intelligence and energy conservation, and promote all-round economic and trade cooperation through technology innovation and upgrading.

A platform for the provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions along the southward channel will be built to showcase their policies and measures, industrial and infrastructure advantages, import & export trade, logistics clearance, and financial services including investment promotion, and to promote policy communication, industrial connection and project initiation.

High-level forums will be held again under the framework of the 15th CAEXPO to add new cooperation fields such as emergency rescue, ocean and commercial arbitration, and to promote initiation of key projects. Thirty-seven forums have so far been confirmed.

The 15th China-ASEAN Business & Investment Summit will renovate activity models and enrich activity content while improving original branded activities. 

Media representatives gather at the press conference.

The preparations for the 15th CAEXPO are progressing smoothly, with a lot of domestic and foreign enterprises signing up for the event. The country of honor this year is Cambodia. Tanzania, an African country, will act as a special partner.

Officials from the Ministry of Commerce, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region attended the event.