China ASEAN Photo:VCG

Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council Ding Xuexiang will attend and address the opening ceremony of the 21st China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Tuesday, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian announced on Monday.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will deliver a video address. Foreign leaders and senior officials, including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister in Charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers of Cambodia Vongsey Vissoth, Deputy Prime Minister of Laos Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Vietnam Ho Duc Phoc, and Secretary-General of ASEAN Kao Kim Hourn will attend the opening ceremony, Lin said.

The expo, which runs from Tuesday to Saturday, will enhance trade and economic relations between China and ASEAN, as it continues to serve as a vital platform that provides numerous collaboration opportunities for enterprises both from China and ASEAN, experts said. As China pledges to open its door wider, China and ASEAN will eye more cooperation in green development and the digital economy, they noted.

ASEAN is a priority for China's neighborhood diplomacy and a key area for the joint construction of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, and China has been ASEAN's largest trading partner since 2009, Lin said. From January to July this year, bilateral trade reached $552 billion, up 7.7 percent year-on-year, Lin said at the regular press conference on Monday.

This year's expo will have a new section for strategic emerging industries, showcasing the latest developments and technologies in fields such as digital technology, new energy and intelligent connected vehicles, said China's Vice Commerce Minister Li Fei in early September, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

"As an important platform for economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN, the expo will continue to play an important role in promoting cooperation between the two sides in the green economy and digital economy," Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday.

Wang noted that China and ASEAN are facing the challenges of environmental protection and sustainable development, and there is extensive room for cooperation in areas such as green infrastructure, green energy and green transportation.

Moreover, China's digital economy is among the world's largest, and ASEAN members are also promoting digital transformation, so there is huge potential for cooperation in e-commerce, artificial intelligence, big data, smart cities and other areas, Wang added.

The China-ASEAN Expo is an important platform for deepening China-ASEAN cooperation and promoting regional economic integration, Lin said, noting that China stands ready to work with ASEAN members on the construction of version 3.0 of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.