This year's China-ASEAN Expo, in the city of Nanning, takes place Oct 21 to 26.

ASEAN-made exhibits on display at a previous expo.

Beijing pavilion at the expo. The organizers began providing special exhibition sections after the second CAEXPO, so that various cities in China and ASEAN member countries could show their special attractions. Shanghai, Tianjin, and Suzhou have all had a CAEXPO debut.

An annual trade fair sponsored by China and 10 ASEAN countries, in Nanning, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, is expected to increase bilateral cooperation and mutual development in various fields, its sponsors have said.

The China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO), which is also sponsored by the ASEAN Secretariat, has been held in Nanning for seven consecutive years.

And it has seen 38 heads of state and over 1,300 VIPs at the ministerial level or above taking part.

The CAEXPO is seen by many as an important way to let enterprises from China and the 10 ASEAN countries rub shoulders with each other and explore business opportunities.

This year has been designated "The China-ASEAN Year of Friendly Exchanges" and is the 20th anniversary of ASEAN-China relations. It is also ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement's first anniversary.

So, this year's expo, which runs Oct 21 to 26, is expected to play an even bigger role in promoting ASEAN-China cooperation. In fact, its theme is "cooperation in environmental protection".

A CAEXPO official has said that this year's expo will shine a spotlight on China's energy conservation, emissions controls, environmental protection efforts, and new energy technologies.

It will have sections for commodity trading, the service trade, investment cooperation, advanced technology, and "charming" cities.

The Chinese Commodities section will focus on machinery and equipment, electronics, electrical appliances, building materials, household goods, agricultural materials, agricultural produce, and foodstuff.

The advanced technology section will have state-of-the-art technologies on display, tailor-made for the ASEAN market.

Malaysia will be this year's country of honor and China's Premier Wen Jiabao has asked more Malaysian companies to take part in the expo to "promote their products and exchange experiences".

Wen commented on this while attending the Malaysia-China Economic, Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in mid-April.

Wen said he hopes that the two countries will increase bilateral trade, investments, and cooperation in infrastructure, education and finance.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak said at the same occasion that, Malaysia, as this year's country of honor at the expo, is ready to increase cooperation with China for mutual benefits, by taking full advantage of the Malaysia-China cooperation agreements and the ASEAN-China free trade agreement.

(China Daily 10/20/2011 page19)