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The grand opening ceremony of the 5th China (Sichuan) International Tourism Investment Conference and the 6th Sichuan International Travel Expo (SCITE) was held in Leshan, Sichuan Province on the morning of 6 September 2019. Mr. Peng Qinghua, Secretary of CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee, Mr. Yang Xingping, Vice Governor of Sichuan Province, Mr. Li Bin, Vice Chairman of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Province of Honour), Mr. Dhan Bahadur Budha, Nepalese State Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Mr. Neak Neron, Vice Governor of Siem Reap Province, Cambodia, Mr. Soon-Hwa Wong, Vice President of Pacific Asia Travel Association, diplomats of the embassies and consulates-general of ASEAN Member States in China and over 400 delegates from home and abroad were present at the ceremony. The delegation of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) headed by Ms. Kong Roatlomang, Director of Education, Culture and Tourism Division (ECTD) attended the Opening Ceremony and related activities.

On behalf of the government and people of Sichuan, Party Secretary Peng Qinghua delivered a welcome speech and expressed appreciation to all those who support the cultural and tourism development in Sichuan Province. Sichuan, the Land of Abundance, boasts enormous cultural and tourism resources and is facing an unprecedent opportunity to integrate the cultural and tourism sectors and build Sichuan into an important tourist destination in the world. With 118 international and regional flight routes and 31 national expressways and highways connecting the provincial capital of Chengdu, the global and domestic connectivity of Sichuan has reached a new level. He also briefed on the ambitious strategies and projects being carried out by the Government of Sichuan in the field of cultural and tourism development.

Vice Governor Yang Xingping delivered a keynote speech on the favorable conditions for cultural and tourism development and new opportunities and projects to attract investments in Sichuan Province. He expects that new investments will help push forward the integration of cultural and tourism sectors and stimulate the overall socioeconomic development in this province.

On the afternoon of 6 September, Director Kong Roatlomang and the ASEAN delegates met with Mr. Yi Fan, Chairman of Leshan Municipal Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and major local officials. The two sides exchanged views extensively on deepening cooperation for improving the strategic partnership in various fields between ASEAN and China, especially between ASEAN and Sichuan Province. Director Kong Roatlomang extended profound appreciation to the government and people of Leshan for their long-time support to ACC’s work. Prior to the meeting, they also attended the Press Conference on Important Projects and Forum of Emei Mountain.

During the 6th SCITE, ACC set up a pavilion for displaying ASEAN tourist destination photos and conducting interactive activities such as art performances. During the Expo, the documentary of Hi! ASEAN was played and the brochures of ASEAN tourism and publications of ACC were distributed, which attracted a lot of visitors to the pavilion.

As a professional tourism exhibition initiated by Sichuan Province, SCITE has now been successfully organized six times and is playing a positive role in the promotion of Sichuan tourism resources and leading the development of the tourism industry in southwest of China. The 6th SCITE comprising over 60 themed activities attracted 3350 delegates from 83 countries and regions, many of whom were from Asian countries. The 6th SCITE served well to be a platform for improving the practical cooperation in the fields of tourism, investment and trade between ASEAN and China.