The 12th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) to be convened on Sept 18-21 will set up the Pavilion of Investment Cooperation, which has become a platform for mutual investments between China and the ASEAN countries and has pragmatically promoted more Chinese enterprises to invest in ASEAN region. It has also encouraged more investments in and cooperation among countries along The Belt and Road Initiative, ensuring rewarding outcomes for the participants.

A gathering of capital and projects that facilitates bilateral investment cooperation

This year is crucial for building the Silk Road Economic Belt, which will bring about more investment and cooperation opportunities for China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA). This Pavilion also aims to encourage more Chinese enterprises to invest in ASEAN region and to deepen and further expand the investment cooperation among China, ASEAN and other countries.

The Pavilion of Investment Cooperation will have two exhibitions, namely the International Economic Cooperation Exhibition and the Capacity Cooperation Exhibition. The former will highlight international project contracting, labor cooperation, infrastructure construction, developing resources, information and technology, energy development, business inviting industrial parks and other key areas such as railways, electric power, non-ferrous metals, building materials and construction machinery. This year, high-speed rail companies such as China-Railway and China CNR Corporation Limited are invited to the Pavilion under the Railway "Go Global" initiative to boost the interconnection and high-speed rail cooperation between China and ASEAN countries. The Pavilion will pave the way for quality investment projects and large amount of international capital from China and the 10 ASEAN member countries to be attracted to Nanning, prompting business professionals from around the world to reach lucrative deals.

Chinese leading exhibiting enterprises of the Pavilion include Bank of China, Aluminum Corporation of China, China Electronics Corporation, China Southern Power Grid, China Datang Corporation, Energy China, Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Tebian Electricity Apparatus Stock Co., Ltd., Xiamen XGMA Heavy Industry Co., Ltd., Yuchai Group, Guangxi Liugong Group Co., Ltd., China National Machinery Import & Export Corporation, China Road and Bridge Corporation, China General Nuclear Power Group, Nanjing Light Industrial Machinery Group, Alan Aluminium lcn, and Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Co., Ltd..

Investment promotion agencies of the Chinese municipalities and provinces including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Yunnan, Guizhou, Anhui, Henan, Heilongjiang and Liaoning will bring together enterprises that are intent on investing abroad to join the Pavilion as exhibitors. Industrial parks of China and the 10 ASEAN countries will also release the latest information on investment projects.

A platform to promote industrial parks and facilitate cross-border cooperation

In recent years, the CAEXPO sideline programs like the Promotion Conference on ASEAN Industrial Parks have effectively promoted the bilateral and multilateral investment cooperation among participants. More than 58 industrial parks were exhibited and promoted during the previous CAEXPOs. Hundreds of Chinese enterprises and project holders had face-to-face talks with representatives of the ASEAN industrial parks and concluded cooperation deals consequently.

Themed on "To Strengthen Port-centered Industry and Logistics Park Cooperation and To Promote Construction of the 21st Century-Maritime Silk Road", the CAEXPO Roundtable Meeting on Investment Cooperation aims to follow the current development trend of The Belt and Road Initiative and Maritime Cooperation to further accelerate the port-centered industry and logistics park cooperation, so as to pragmatically boost the development of maritime connectivity.

At the same time, the Promotion Conference on ASEAN Industrial Parks will continue to provide a platform for senior officials of the ASEAN and Chinese investment promotion agencies. Chinese enterprises with the capacity of logistic investment in the port-centered industry will be invited to discuss major issues on promoting investments in the ASEAN industrial parks and giving full play to the advantages of all the parties concerned to jointly promote bilateral investment cooperation.

Such sideline programs as the Promotion Conference on ASEAN Industrial Parks have been highly credited by the ASEAN participants. At the 10th CAEXPO Roundtable Meeting on Investment Cooperation, Mr. Subash Bose Pillai, senior official of the ASEAN Secretariat, said that it was a platform for more friendly dialogues and exchanges. Representatives from Cambodia's Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone directly extended olive branches to the Chinese enterprises at the 1st Promotion Conference on ASEAN Industrial Parks, and convinced them that compared with those in the developed countries, Cambodian industrial parks are more cost-effective in terms of land prices and labor and tax reduction and exemptions.

The 21st Century-Maritime Silk Road and International Capacity and Equipment Manufacturing Cooperation Forum will be held for the first time and it will boost international capacity cooperation. Currently, the increasing adjustment of the global industrial structure, heating up of infrastructure construction as well as accelerating industrialization of China and ASEAN countries provide essential opportunities for international capacity and equipment manufacturing cooperation.

In line with the global economic changes, the fair and the activities on international cooperation capacity will open the floor for governments and enterprises to boost international capacity and equipment manufacturing cooperation, which will consequently promote effective mechanisms, unleash production capacity cooperation projects and support Chinese enterprises in the field to invest in ASEAN countries.

Diversified sideline programs passing the latest information on bilateral cooperation

The successful past 11 sessions of CAEXPO have built a good channel for releasing the latest information on China-ASEAN investment cooperation.

The upcoming 12th CAEXPO will continue to arrange a series of investment promotion programs, including promotion conferences on investment environment of China and the 10 ASEAN member states, China-ASEAN infrastructure cooperation forum, meetings by Chinese Economic and Commercial Counselors based in the ASEAN Countries with participating entrepreneurs, conferences on cross-border investments and trade cooperation, key project signing ceremony, the promotion conference on Dongxing – Mong Cai Cross-border Economic Cooperation Zone and ASEAN-Guangxi-Hong Kong economy and trade communications.

Chinese economic and commercial counselors will be invited to discuss the actual topics related to Chinese enterprises investing in ASEAN and answer the questions to be raised by the entrepreneurs. Renowned Chinese entrepreneurs will also share their experiences in making investments in the ASEAN countries. The Investment & Fund-raising Seminar will invite Chinese and ASEAN governmental departments, investment promotion agencies, industrial parks, investment and fund-raising projects holders, "Go Global" enterprises, equity, credit and finance institutions to participate. Furthermore, China-ASEAN Infrastructure Cooperation Forum and briefing conferences on investment environment will release the latest official information on the outward investment.

Remarkable achievements of the China-ASEAN investment cooperation

The 11th CAEXPO was held in 2014. Remarkable achievements were made through China-ASEAN cooperation during the previous CAEXPOs. A great number of projects on electric power, bridges, agriculture and manufacturing have been realized. Furthermore, China has founded China-ASEAN Investment Cooperation Fund to provide preferential financing, boosting the economic development of ASEAN countries and benefiting the people of the region. At present, China is speeding up building the trade and economic cooperation zones in each ASEAN country and improving the level of mutually beneficial cooperation through cluster investments. By the end of 2014, the amount of two-way investment between China and ASEAN has exceeded $130 billion.

This year is important for building The Belt and Road Initiative and also marks the China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation Year. This special occasion enriches the CAEXPO and attaches more significance to it. What surprises will the 12th CAEXPO bring to you? We are all looking forward to it!