The 21st China-ASEAN Expo held its first public open day on Friday, drawing in more than 40,000 visitors.
Running from Tuesday till Saturday in south China's Nanning City, the event has attracted over 3,000 enterprises, including more than 800 from ASEAN and outside the region.
This year's expo has added exhibition areas such as strategic emerging topics, digital technology, and ASEAN high-tech products. The exhibition period has been extended from the previous four to five days, adding a special public opening day.
Visitors were able to enjoy one-stop consumption, from eating and drinking to shopping for fun.
"After participating in this event once, we have become obsessed with it. This large expo is full of people. A lot of people come to our booth for samples. We can hand out about 30,000 of them per day," said an exhibitor.
Apart from special snacks, delicate handcrafts and ornaments such as rugs and chandeliers from foreign countries have also caught visitors' attention.
"I've never seen anything like this before. I think it is quite novel," said a visitor.
At the same time, forums were also held on the sidelines of the expo.
A total of 36 projects between China and Malaysia, including 15 industrial programs, 15 commodity trade programs and six financial innovation programs, were reached, with the overall investment surpassing 14.6 billion yuan (about 2.08 billion U.S. dollars).
"The China-Malaysia industrial parks, the twin parks are very significant for bilateral relations between Malaysia and China. There are more and more opportunities for Malaysian and Chinese companies to be part of those parks," said Mohamad Haris Abdul Latiff, trade commissioner of the Consulate General of Malaysia in Guangzhou.
First public open day of 21st China-ASEAN Expo welcomes over 40,000 visitors
The Navy of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said that the Strait of Hormuz has been blocked since Saturday evening and will not reopen until the United States lifts its naval blockade on the waterway.
In a statement carried by its official news outlet Sepah News, the IGRC said that the move came after the United States violated its commitments under the two-week ceasefire, which took effect on April 8, and failed to end its naval blockade against Iranian vessels and ports.
The IRGC Navy called on all vessels and their owners to follow official updates via its channel and VHF Channel 16, the international maritime distress, safety, and calling frequency. The statements by U.S. President Donald Trump hold no credibility in the strait and the Gulf, it added.
The IRGC warned that no vessel should move from its anchorage in the Gulf or the Gulf of Oman, and any approach to the strait would be deemed "cooperation with the enemy" and targeted accordingly.
Tehran's political leadership echoed the IRGC's firm position. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf asserted that the Strait of Hormuz is under Iran's control, revealing that during previous negotiations, Iran had firmly countered U.S. attempts to carry out minesweeping operations, which Tehran viewed as a ceasefire violation.
He said the situation had come close to conflict, but the U.S. had eventually backed off.
Calling the U.S. maritime blockade "reckless and ignorant," Ghalibaf warned that passage through the strait would certainly be restricted if Washington does not lift the blockade.
Underpinning these public announcements, Iran's Supreme National Security Council on Saturday affirmed the country's resolve to exercise control and supervision over traffic through the Strait of Hormuz until the war is definitively ended and lasting peace is achieved in the region.
For its part, the United States pressed ahead with its own military measures.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on Saturday that the U.S. military is imposing a maritime blockade on ships entering and exiting Iranian ports and nearby coastal areas. Since the blockade began on April 13, 23 ships have complied with U.S. directions to turn around.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military is preparing in the coming days to board Iran-linked oil tankers and seize commercial ships in international waters, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing U.S. officials.
The move will enable the U.S. to take control of Iran-linked vessels around the world, including ships carrying Iranian oil that are already sailing outside the Persian Gulf and those carrying arms that could support Tehran, the report said.
Iran's IRGC says Strait of Hormuz blocked, demands end to US naval blockade
