Vice President Han Zheng is set to speak at the 22nd China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed.
Held in Nanning, Guangxi Province, the four-day event comes at a pivotal moment in relations between China and Southeast Asia. Earlier this month, Vice Minister of Commerce Yan Dong noted that Beijing was working closely with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to formally upgrade the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) by the end of the year.
The enhanced protocol, agreed in principle in May, aims to broaden cooperation in areas such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, digital trade, the green economy and supply-chain security, Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post has reported.
The initiative underscores Beijing’s drive to diversify its export markets and safeguard Asian supply chains at a time of mounting global competition and ongoing US protectionist measures. In August alone, China’s shipments to ASEAN surged 22.5 percent year on year, according to customs data.
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ASEAN has remained China’s largest trading partner – and vice versa – for the past five years. In the first eight months of 2025, bilateral trade reached US$686.8 billion, up 8.6 percent from the same period last year and accounting for nearly 17 percent of China’s total foreign trade.
Organisers say this year’s CAEXPO will host around 3,200 companies from 45 countries in its exhibition space of 160,000 square metres. In addition to traditional trade and investment showcases, new sections will highlight advanced manufacturing, AI, and the blue economy, covering maritime sectors like fisheries, offshore energy and marine transport.
The expo will also feature the first China-ASEAN AI Ministerial Forum, where leaders from China and all 10 ASEAN countries will discuss technological developments, according to CGTN. Cutting edge AI products from around the region will make their debut at the event.
CAEXPO has been held annually in Nanning since 2004.
