Chinese FM spokesperson expounds China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning expounded the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit at a daily press conference on Thursday. The following is the full excerption.  

CCTV: Could you share China's expectation for the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit?

Mao Ning: This year marks the 10th anniversary of the proposal of building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future and the Belt and Road Initiative put forward by President Xi Jinping, and the 20th anniversary of China’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation has been growing steadily. China has been ASEAN’s largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years, and both sides have been each other’s largest trading partners for three years in a row. In 2022, China-ASEAN trade exceeded USD 970 billion, up by 11.2 percent year-on-year. By July this year, the accumulated two-way investment between China and ASEAN countries has exceeded USD 380 billion. At the recent leaders’ meetings on East Asia cooperation, Premier Li Qiang and leaders of ASEAN countries reached important common understandings on deepening China-ASEAN cooperation on all fronts and jointly building a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home.

The China-ASEAN Expo is a key platform for deepening China-ASEAN cooperation and promoting regional economic integration. As we mark its 20th anniversary, this year’s Expo is themed “Work Together for a Harmonious Home and a Shared Future—Promoting High-Quality Development of the Belt and Road and Building an Epicentrum of Growth”. China hopes that this event will be an opportunity for all sides to explore opportunities, meet challenges and pursue cooperation. We will work for the high-quality implementation of RCEP, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation between China and ASEAN, improve regional connectivity, build an open regional economy, and promote the building of an even closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.