On 2 December 2020, co-hosted by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), the opening ceremony of the China-Southeast Asia (Myanmar) International Trade Digital Expo was held on a live webcast. Mr. Zhang Shaogang, Vice Chairman of CCPIT, Mr. Chen Dehai, Secretary-General of ACC, Mr. U Myo Thant Pe, Ambassador of Myanmar to China, together with business leaders from the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Thai Industries attended and addressed the opening ceremony. Representatives from Southeast Asian enterprises, CCPIT sub-councils and media attended the opening ceremony online.

Vice Chairman Zhang Shaogang said in his remarks that China will continue to open up and drive the world economy to recover with its own recovery. This will bring more opportunities for business and industry in various regions worldwide including the Southeast Asia to share the benefits of high-quality development of China’s economy. CCPIT is willing to work with all parties to further enhance the trade and investment cooperation between China and Southeast Asia by facilitating cooperation between enterprises from the two sides.

Secretary-General Chen Dehai mentioned that ASEAN-China relations are embracing new development opportunities. The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area Upgrading Protocol has come into full effect, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement has just been signed. The two sides will also create new cooperation highlights in the fields including smart cities, 5G, AI, e-commerce, big data, block chain, and tele-medicine. All the above will promote the overall recovery of the regional economic development and prosperity, and stimulate the global economic growth.

Ambassador U Myo Thant Pe said that China is a very important partner and one of the largest investors to Myanmar. In response to the pandemic, the Myanmar Government has launched a series of economic support programmes, including strengthening e-commerce and promoting digital  payment and retail trade. Myanmar is willing to deepen e-commerce cooperation with China and promote bilateral economic and trade relations.

The Expo is a concrete action to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Myanmar, and build the China-Myanmar community with a shared future. It is also a good opportunity to tackle the COVID-19 and promote mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides. The Expo will last for 10 days, aiming to make full use of the Internet and cloud technology to innovate the mode of exhibition and trade negotiation for a zero-distance, low-cost and high-efficiency online platform for enterprises from China and Southeast Asia to tap business opportunities and international markets.