Exhibition areas of the previous China-ASEAN Expo. [Photo/caexpo.org]

The 16th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO), which will be held from Sept 21-24, will expand the scale of the Belt and Road exhibition area, hold high-level forums highlighting the Belt and Road Initiative, and launch international purchasing fairs to strengthen cooperation among countries along the Belt and Road.

This year's CAEXPO will focus on hot spots, such as the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, the China (Guangxi) Free Trade Pilot Zone, the financial gateway for ASEAN, and the China-ASEAN Information Harbor, to optimize the exhibition content and organize a series of special forums, promotion, and matchmaking events.

The 16th CAEXPO will explore new business opportunities through more than 80 economic and trade activities, including promotion conferences of the 10 ASEAN countries, as well as domestic provinces and cities, roundtable conferences on investment cooperation, as well as investment fairs of industrial parks. In addition, 33 forums will be hosted during the expo, covering the fields of capacity cooperation, e-commerce, technology, environmental protection, agriculture, fiscal and taxation, as well as radio and television media.

Wang Lei, secretary general of the CAEXPO Secretariat, noted that this year's CAEXPO will further promote the construction of the BRI in five aspects, including policy communication, trade exchange, facility connectivity, fund circulation, and popular support.