Spokesman Report

BEIJING : Pakistan, like previous years, will participate in the 19th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit to be held in Nanning, Capital of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region of China, from September 16 to 19.

The relevant authorities have completed all the arrangements in this regard, a senior official said on Sunday.

Pakistani traders and industrialists will display handicrafts, furniture, auto parts, gem stones, carpets, sports goods, agricultural machinery and surgical instruments during the expo.

Themed in sharing new opportunities of the RCEP and jointly advancing version 3.0 of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, the events will showcase the new achievements and highlights of the economic and trade cooperation between the two sides.

Covering an area of 102,000 square meters, this year’s exhibition for the first time will feature several sections on new energy vehicles, culture and tourism, healthcare and cross-border e-commerce.

As many as 21 high-level forums and more than 80 economic and trade promotion activities will be held during the expo.

China has remained ASEAN’s largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years. During the first seven months of this year, their trade with each other surged 13.1 percent year-on-year to $544.9 billion, accounting for 15 percent of China’s total foreign trade during the period.

As of the end of July, bilateral investment between China and ASEAN had exceeded $340 billion, while the turnover of Chinese enterprises from project contracts in ASEAN countries exceeded $380 billion.