On 14 June 2018, the grand opening ceremony of the 5th China-South Asia Exposition & 25th China Kunming Import & Export Fair & 1st China-South Asia Cooperation Forum were held at the Kunming Dianchi International Convention and Exhibition Centre. H.E. Mr. Hu Chunhua, Chinese Vice Premier, H.E. Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, Second Chief Executive Officer of Afghanistan, H.E. Sonexay Siphandone, Vice Prime Minister of Lao PDR, H.E. Vu Duc Dam, Vice Prime Minister of Viet Nam, and other senior government officials of China and South and Southeast Asian countries attended the opening ceremony and delivered remarks. Nearly 3,000 people including government officials, envoys of embassies and consulates, representatives of international organizations, representatives of well-known business associations and enterprises from China and South and Southeast Asia were present.H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), attended the opening ceremony.
H.E. Mr. Hu Chunhua mentioned in his remarks that as China’s close neighbour, South Asia is an important partner of the Belt and Road Initiative. Through the platform of the CSA Expo, China and South Asian countries have deepened practical cooperation in various fields, especially the cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, and achieved fruitful results. China has become one of the most important trade partners and sources of foreign investment of South Asian countries. The bilateral cooperation mechanism has been constantly improving. Trade scale has increased rapidly and special investment has been promoted significantly, as well as infrastructure cooperation has been actively carried out. China and South Asia are the regions with the most dynamic growth potential in the world and have broad prospects for cooperation.
H.E. Mr. Hu Chunhua stated that China is willing to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with South Asian countries from the following aspects. First, to strengthen high-level guidance to increase political mutual trust. Second, to make use of complementary advantages to stimulate trade vitality. Third, to expand mutual investment and strengthen cooperation on production capacity. Fourth, to accelerate connectivity and expand cooperation potential. Fifth, to deepen cultural exchanges and promote people-to-people connection. He said that the year 2018 is the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up endeavor. China will unswervingly deepen reform and expand opening-up so as to promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation. There will be great opportunities for all countries in the world including South and Southeast Asian countries. He hoped that enterprises of the world will seize the favorable opportunity to work jointly with Chinese enterprises to share the dividends of development. He also hoped that all parties enhance exchanges and further mutual understanding for more win-win results through the CSA Expo.
H.E. Mr. Chen Hao, Secretary of CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee, extended a warm welcome to all the guests in his remark. He said that after five years of development, the CSA Expo has become an important event and bridge that connects China and South and Southeast Asian countries to carry out multilateral exchanges, strengthen economic and trade cooperation and deepen cultural and people-to-people exchanges under the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. It has also become an important platform for Yunnan to actively serve the nation’s opening-up and promote cooperation and exchanges between local provinces of China and South and Southeast Asian countries. The theme of this year’s Expo is “Integrated into the Belt and Road Initiative, Promote Win-win Cooperation”. The Expo aims to promote cooperation in various fields between China and South and Southeast Asian countries under the principle of mutual benefit, and to create a new pattern of regional integration and development in which the diversity of the regional countries could be translated into potential and driving force for development, with a view to jointly promoting the Belt and Road Initiative, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor and the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor.
H.E. Mme. Gao Yan, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce, stated in her remarks that China and South Asia have a long history of friendly exchanges. Located in the interchange of land and sea, South Asia is China’s priority as well as important partner to promote the Belt and Road Initiative. China is willing to strengthen coordination of economic development strategies with South Asian countries, combine Chinese industries with the demands for development of South Asian countries, and to promote cooperation and development of both sides into a vibrant and productive new stage. Aimed at being a high-level comprehensive international exposition, this year’s Expo focused on trade in goods, investment and cultural exchanges and fully played its role as an important platform of multilateral diplomacy, economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges for countries in South and Southeast Asia and even in the world. She expressed the hope that all friends at home and abroad make full use of the Expo by sharing information, enhancing mutual understanding and achieving practical cooperation and win-win development.
H.E. Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, Second Chief Executive Officer of Afghanistan, mentioned in his remarks that as an important member of the region, Afghanistan attaches importance to strengthening cooperation with Southeast Asian nations in the fields of economy, commerce, science and technology. As the Theme Country of this year’s Expo, Afghanistan looks forward to enabling other countries to know more about Afghanistan, and to deepen cooperation with China and other countries to promote mutual benefits and win-win results.
H.E. Vu Duc Dam, Vice Prime Minister of Viet Nam, opined that Vietnam has a traditional friendly relationship with China. China is Viet Nam’s largest trading partner. The two countries have set up joint working groups dedicated to the construction of regional economic corridors. As a member of ASEAN, Viet Nam has actively implemented the cooperation mechanism with ASEAN partners and promoted the establishment of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. He stated that Viet Nam will continue to facilitate cooperation with other countries and make new contributions to regional and world peace and prosperity.
H.E. Sonexay Siphandone, Vice Prime Minister of Lao PDR, remarked that Lao PDR highly appreciates the theme of the Expo, which is in line with the development trend of all countries in the region and the world. The Belt and Road Initiative is highly compatible with Lao PDR's strategy of turning the “landlocked country" into the “land connected country”.The cooperation between Lao PDR and China has a bright future. 2018 is the Lao PDR Year of Tourism. He hoped to let more friends from other countries better understand Lao PDR through the Expo platform, and warmly welcome more Chinese friends to visit and invest in Lao PDR.
H.E. Dr. Than Myint, Minister of Commerce of Myanmar, said that economic and cultural exchanges between Myanmar and China have a long history. The Belt and Road Initiative provides a good opportunity for the development of the region and the world. The leaders of Myanmar and China have reached important consensus on advancing border trade and cooperation on infrastructure construction.Myanmar fully supports the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative. He hopes that both sides will continue to strengthen high-level exchanges, expand practical cooperation in various fields and achieve more benefits for the people of both sides.
The 5th CSA Expo was organized by the Ministry of Commerce of China and Yunnan Provincial Government and lasted for 7 days. The scale of the Expo is the largest in its history. There are 19 pavilions including ASEAN Pavilion, South Asia Pavilion, Agriculture Pavilion, Tourism Pavilion, Manufacturing Pavilion, Theme Country and Country of Honor, covering a total exhibition area of 190,000square metres with around 8,500 exhibition booths and 3,825exhibitors representing 87 countries and regions. 11 Southeast Asian countries participated in the Expo with more than 900 standard booths.