The Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

The 19th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) opened on Sept 16 in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. As an essential exchange and matchmaking platform between China and ASEAN, the China-ASEAN Expo has witnessed the development of economic and trade cooperation between the two sides.

Since the 2004 China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit were permanently settled in Nanning, the 18 sessions of the expo and summit have attracted businesspeople from home and abroad. They have achieved a series of trade-in goods, investment cooperation, and international production capacity cooperation. During the 18th CAEXPO, 179 international and domestic cooperation projects were signed, toppling a total investment of over 300 billion yuan ($43 billion), the highest ever recorded.

The permanent settlement of the China-ASEAN Expo has made the "Nanning Channel" increasingly smooth. Currently, the "Nanning Channel" has become a choice for many countries to cooperate with China. Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Malaysia have established consulates in Nanning. More foreign companies cooperate in goods trade, investment, service trade, international production capacity, and cross-border park construction through "Nanning Channel".

According to the CAEXPO Secretariat, this year's expo will release several cooperation initiatives and research reports, launch several cooperation mechanisms, and is expected to sign several cooperation projects, further expanding the "Nanning Channel".