China-ASEAN Expo opens in south China

This is the opening ceremony of the 14th China-ASEAN Expo. [Photo: people.com.cn]

The 14th China-ASEAN Expo opened Tuesday in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, highlighting trade and investment among China, ASEAN and other countries along the Belt and Road.

The expo, "Co-Building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Promoting Regional Economic Integration through Tourism," is in Nanning, capital of Guangxi.

The four-day event attracted 2,709 exhibitors, up 1.5 percent from the previous event, while the number of buyers is expected to exceed 10,000, including about 4,000 international buyers, according to Yang Yanyan from the expo secretariat.

The China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit also opened Tuesday.

The expo features 6,600 exhibition booths, an increase of 800 from the previous event. It includes 36 forums in fields such as industrial capacity cooperation, environmental protection, culture, transport and tourism.

ASEAN, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is China's third-largest trading partner, while China is ASEAN's largest trading partner.