China-ASEAN Expo calls for regional cooperation on industrial, supply chains

Forums and side events during the 22nd China-ASEAN Expo, underway in Nanning of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Thursday centered on deepening regional coordination and boosting cooperation across industrial and supply chains between China and ASEAN member states.

At this year's Expo, representatives from the participating countries engaged in discussions on advancing coordinated development between the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area Version 3.0.

China and ASEAN, which shares a steadily expanding trading partnership, saw the volume of their goods trade increasing from 515.45 billion U.S. dollars in 2017 to 982.34 billion U.S. dollars in 2024.

"Against the backdrop of rampant unilateralism and challenges to the multilateral system of international economic and trade rules, we should give full play to the important role of RCEP, refrain from building high walls of tariffs or setting up hidden barriers, maintain a high level of opening up in goods and services trade and investment, and provide a better and stable business environment for cooperation between enterprises and for the cooperation of industrial and supply chains," said Wang Xuekun, head of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, at a forum.

"I think having dialogue like this can help us in collaboration a little bit more. We can exchange information, discussions about how to overcome challenges, like aging society, that every country in the regions are going into," said Tiranee Achalakul, head and CEO of the Big Data Institute in Thailand, told China Central Television (CCTV).

At the ASEAN Plus Three Industrial and Supply Chains Partnering Conference, whose participants also included China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, on Thursday, Chinese financial institutions launched a platform aimed at promoting exchange and cooperation across eight key sectors, including advanced manufacturing, clean energy, and green agriculture.

"We offer comprehensive financial solutions and work to build industrial chain and supply chain systems that are stable and unimpeded, support open cooperation, and operate with efficiency. We aim to deepen cooperation with financial institutions and enterprises in ASEAN countries and jointly create artificial intelligence scenarios in the financial field," Fang Yi, a member of the Communist Party of China committee of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's Guangxi Branch, told CCTV.

A report, titled "ASEAN Plus Three Industrial and Supply Chains Cooperation," was released at the event, providing a comprehensive review of regional progress in industrial and supply chain collaboration. It urged all parties to further strengthen mechanism coordination and regulatory alignment.

China-ASEAN Expo calls for regional cooperation on industrial, supply chains

China is willing to strengthen communication, enhance trust, eliminate interference, and deepen cooperation with Canada to bring bilateral relations forward on a steady and sound track in solid strides under the new circumstances, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand in Beijing on the day.

Referring to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to China, the first by a Canadian prime minister in eight years, Wang said the trip marks a milestone in bilateral ties and signals a turning point in the relationship.

The leaders of the two countries will hold meetings and talks, which are expected to open up new prospects for bilateral relations, said Wang.

The world today is undergoing profound and complex changes, and the impact of China-Canada relations transcends the bilateral scope, Wang noted.

Wang said that China and Canada have different social systems, stemming from different historical and cultural heritage, and based on the choices of their respective people.

He urged both sides to view each other in a rational and amicable manner with an inclusive mindset, handle issues on the basis of mutual respect, focus on the agenda of cooperation, and send positive messages so as to foster optimism, inject greater confidence into the development of bilateral relations, and jointly build a new type of strategic partnership between China and Canada.

Anand said the new Canadian government attaches great importance to relations with China. She also added that Prime Minister Carney looks forward to engaging in in-depth exchanges with Chinese leaders during the visit to set the course for the development of bilateral relations, resume dialogue in various fields, pursue more mutually beneficial outcomes, enhance coordination and cooperation in multilateral affairs, and further advance the strategic partnership between the two countries.

China ready to work for steady, sound ties with Canada: FM