From 12 to 15 September, 2018, the 15th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) was held in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. With strong support from CAEXPO Secretariat, ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) has, for the sixth consecutive year, set up a booth at the Expo, drawing wide attention and praise among the general public.

ACC’s booth was located at the pavilion of “Cities of Charm” in Nanning International Convention Centre, next to the ASEAN Secretariat’s booth and close to all the booths of cities of charms from the ASEAN countries. The booth emphasized the achievements of the 15th anniversary of ASEAN-China strategic partnership and the ASEAN-China Year of Innovation. English-Chinese bilingual materials including annual report, newsletters, leaflets, ASEAN-China cooperation statistics books, ASEAN tour guide pamphlets, pictures and “Hi! ASEAN” documentary video were presented to showcase ACC’s efforts and achievements in pushing forward ASEAN-China practical cooperation in trade, investment, education, culture, tourism, information and media. An online quiz with prizes was newly initiated this year to interact with the visitors and increase their knowledge on ASEAN-China relations.

The booth attracted hundreds of visitors daily who stopped by to take pictures, communicate and consult. The booth was also visited and covered by several Chinese and foreign media including China Report, China-ASEAN Panorama, Guangming Daily, Guangxi Daily, the Star (Malaysia), Jian Hua Daily (Cambodia), etc. Public awareness on ACC’s work and ASEAN-China relations has increased significantly.

Under the theme of “Jointly Building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Forging the China-ASEAN Community of Innovation”, this year’s expo aims to deepen cooperation in economy, trade, science and technology innovation, international production capacity and other areas and promote the construction of major projects along China-Singapore (Chongqing) Connectivity Initiative Southern Transport Corridor (CCI-STC). Five theme areas, namely, commodity trade, advanced technology, investment cooperation, trade service and city of charm were set up with 6,600 booths and 2,780 exhibitors, an increase of 2.6 percent over the past year.