On 10 September 2025, the 2025 Sichuan-South Asia & Southeast Asia Business Development Cooperation Conference, supported by the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), was successfully held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Vice Chairman Lin Shucheng of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development of Sri Lanka, Secretary General Shi Zhongjun of the ACC, and Acting President Chandi Dhakal of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches.

With the theme "Together We Progress, Pursuing Common Prosperity: Build A New Pattern of Synergy in the Industrial and Supply Chain," the conference attracted more than 300 representatives from diplomatic missions, trade and investment promotion agencies, major business associations, and enterprises from China and 14 South Asian and Southeast Asian countries including Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.

In his address, Secretary General Shi Zhongjun encouraged Sichuan to continue strengthening infrastructure connectivity with ASEAN countries, deepen the integration of industrial and supply chains, and expand cooperation in emerging fields such as digital economy and green economy, aiming to establish Sichuan as a Southeast Asia cooperation hub in southwestern China.

Lin Shucheng called on all parties to enhance collaboration, jointly safeguard the international trade and investment order, forge closer links in regional industrial and supply chains, and broaden cooperation into wider areas such as culture, education, health, and business services on the basis of economic and trade relations.

At the event, Consul General Sake Nopthaisong of Thailand in Chengdu, Consul General Bui Nguyen Long of Vietnam in Chongqing, Consul General Muhamad Akmal of Malaysia in Kunming, as well as representatives from business associations and scholars from China, ASEAN, and South Asian countries engaged in thematic discussions on topics such as "Deepening Traditional Economic and Trade Cooperation, Building Resilient Industrial and Supply Chains" and "Harnessing the Digital and Green Waves, Innovating New Engines for Growth." During the event, five cooperation projects were signed, covering areas such as government-bank collaboration, cross-border talent sharing and training, cross-border e-commerce trade, supply chain warehousing, and logistics cooperation, accelerating Sichuan’s southward opening-up and collaboration.