Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng addresses the opening ceremony of the 7th China-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Expo (CAEXPO) in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Oct. 19, 2010. The 7th CAEXPO will be held in Nanning untill Oct. 24, 2010. This is the first CAEXPO since the founding of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) on Jan. 1, 2010. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua)

NANNING, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- China's Vice Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said Tuesday the 7th China-ASEAN Expo will bring more benefits to companies and peoples from both sides due to the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) on Jan. 1, 2010.

Gao made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the 7th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, capital city of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

China and ASEAN have greatly increased mutual investment and trade in recent years. The establishment of CAFTA has helped push trade and economic cooperation between China and ASEAN member states to a higher level, Gao said.

This year's expo would make full use of the establishment of CAFTA to expand cooperation in various fields, thus bringing more benefits to companies and peoples from both sides, Gao said.

Featuring the theme "free trade area and new opportunities," the six-day expo includes about ten sub-forums covering such areas as energy, agriculture, finance, transport and poverty relief.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam with a total area of 4.5 million square kilometers.