23rd China-ASEAN Expo opens with new product debuts, AI focus

China

23rd China-ASEAN Expo opens with new product debuts, AI focus

2026-09-17 13:47 Last Updated At：09-19 00:52

The 23rd China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit opened on Thursday morning in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, bringing a wave of first-time product launches, upgraded AI applications and new matchmaking platforms designed to deepen trade and industrial ties under the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) 3.0 framework.

The expo is themed "CAFTA 3.0 Opportunities, Better Life", focusing on trade, AI, and applications. Its total exhibition area covers 170,000 square meters, 10,000 square meters larger than last year. About 3,400 companies are participating, up 5.3 percent from the previous edition.

For the first time, a future space exhibition area and a sci-tech enterprise growth empowerment exhibition area have been set up, where high-tech products and debut items are showcased.

This year's expo has also set up a new exhibition area dedicated to the needs of ASEAN countries for the first time, showcasing their specific technological and application requirements, and making it easier for Chinese enterprises to precisely match their offerings to these needs.

In addition, it is introducing a new exhibition model in which chain-leading companies are here together with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By exhibiting alongside upstream and downstream SMEs, the industrial leaders are helping specialized and innovative enterprises enter the international stage.

Highlighting AI applications is a major feature of this year's expo. Setting up an "AI Marketplace" for the first time, the expo aims to promote AI's shift from technology display to practical application. More than 500 products from over 70 companies are on display, and visitors can experience them on site and place orders directly.

There is also a dedicated exhibition area for the Pinglu Canal, which officially opened to navigation on Wednesday, the eve of the expo.

The Pinglu Canal has shortened the shipping route from southwestern China to the sea by more than 560 kilometers and lowered logistics costs by up to 30 percent, providing a new corridor for goods to flow in both directions between the vast Chinese and ASEAN markets.

The expo will run until September 21.

China International Intelligent Communication Forum held in Jiangsu

The China International Intelligent Communication Forum 2026 was held in Wuxi City, east China's Jiangsu Province on Monday, under the theme of "New Ecosystem, New Opportunities, New Future".

Co-hosted by China Media Group (CMG) and the Jiangsu provincial government, the forum brought together political figures, experts, scholars and media professionals to discuss topics including intelligent communication, media transformation, sci-tech innovation, industrial development, mutual learning among civilizations and international cooperation.

"I think the idea of combining media with science and communication is a really good idea. And I found the meeting very interesting. I learned things. I think communication is essential. Communication gives us cultural intelligence, and gives us the ability to learn from other people," said Michael Levitt, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry and a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences released the China Cities' International Intelligent Communication Capacity Development Report 2026 at the opening ceremony, which also launched the Wuxi Initiative of the China International Intelligent Communication Forum.

This year's forum built a platform for exchanges and cooperation among enterprises in fields such as artificial intelligence and digital film and television, and promoted the alignment of industry resources.

"For our park, in the process of extending and strengthening the industrial chain, the forum has brought us many good enterprises across the entire production chain," said Yao Jingfei, head of the Wuxi National Digital Film Industrial Park.