Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) for the CAEXPO was held in Nanning of China on Sept 20. Senior officials from China, the 10 ASEAN countries and the ASEAN Secretariat highly acclaimed the achievements made by the 12th CAEXPO. The SOM made a summary on the 12th CAEXPO and briefed on the issues for the 13th session, including the Country of Honor, theme, news missions and direction of development.

The SOM was co-chaired by Mr. Ling Xiao with the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Commerce of China (MOFCOM) and Mr. Sakarn Saensopa, commercial counsel of the Consulate General of Thailand in Nanning.

Mr. Wang Lei, secretary-general of the CAEXPO Secretariat, said that the 12th CAEXPO that featured "Building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Creating a New Blueprint for Maritime Cooperation" as the theme attracted heads of state and government and many high-profiled participants as always, converged consensus on building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and would upgrade the China-ASEAN friendly cooperation to a new pinnacle. Following closely the efforts to upgrade the China-ASEAN FTA, the 12th CAEXPO gave spotlights on international capacity cooperation, facilitated such major projects as the China-ASEAN Information Harbor to be grounded and implemented, and saw significant growth of practical economic and trade outcomes. It captured extensive attention and increased its influence. Thailand and Korea, respectively the Country of Honor and the Special Guest Country, arranged diverse events and activities during the fair period. The 12th CAEXPO vigorously accelerated the upgrade of its own, extended its exhibition value chain and made new progress, receiving high credits from visiting heads of state and government and extensive recognition of business communities of both sides.

Mr. Ling Xiao with MOFCOM said that success of the 12th CAEXPO was attributed to the efforts and full support of the CAEXPO Co-organizers in ASEAN countries and the ASEAN Secretariat. 2016 will mark the 25th Anniversary of the Establishment of Dialogue Relations between China and ASEAN, an important for the upgrade of the CAEXPO. China would work closely with the ASEAN countries to prepare for the 13th CAEXPO, improve the co-sponsoring mechanism that involves 11 countries, extend and optimize the CAEXPO value chain, expand cooperation, deliver more tangible outcomes and expand the CAEXPO's influence, making greater contribution to serving the efforts to upgrade the China-ASEAN FTA and building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

ASEAN senior officials spoke highly of the 12th CAEXPO and the 12th CABIS, commenting on the fruitful efforts made by China which provided more opportunities between high-ranking government officials and businesses. They believed the CAEXPO shaped a sound platform for all countries concerned to share business opportunities created by the Belt and Road initiative, deepening dialogues and cooperation among China and the 10 ASEAN countries. The senior officials added that they would offer constant support to ensure success of the CAEXPO and the CABIS for the future sessions. They would organize more enterprises and businesses of their countries to the 13th CAEXPO and the successive sessions, helping the CAEXPO and the CABIS to deliver richer practical outcomes.

According to the SOM, the 13th CAEXPO will be held from Sept 23 to 26, 2016, and will continue to set up the Pavilion of Commodity Trade, the Pavilion of Investment Cooperation, the Pavilion of Trade in Services, the Pavilion of Advanced Technology and the Pavilion of Cities of Charm. Vietnam will be the Country of Honor. The Special Guest Country mechanism will be followed. More exchanges activities that aim to serve the implementation of the Belt and Road initiative, the upgrade of the China-ASEAN FTA and the cooperation with and among the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) member countries.

A lots draw ceremony for deciding the order to choose the locations of cities of charm pavilions for the 13th CAEXPO was held. Awards were presented to Chinese and international organizers of exhibitors and trade visitors.