1、Chinese vice President Xi Jinping has attended the opening ceremonies of Ninth China-ASEAN Expo and Business and Investment Summit in Nanning, south Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Friday. Participants have proposed measures for further cooperation in sustainable development in the region
2、.CRIs Luo Laiming has more.Since its inauguration in 2004, the annual event has become a major platform for effective cooperation in regional economic and trade affairs as well as a big boost for the development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.Chinese vice President Xi Jinping said the event focu
3、ses on the prosperous trade connection and good- neighborly relations between China and ASEAN countries.Among ASEANs dialogue partners, China is the first to have established a strategic partnership and the first to have started the FTA process. On major international and regional issues, the two si
4、des have maintained close communication and coordination and worked together to safeguard the interests of developing countries.Meanwhile, two-way trade between China and ASEAN surged from 7 billion U.S. dollars in the early days of the dialogue relations to 362.8 billion last year, registering an a
5、verage annual growth of more than 20 percent. Since the China-ASEAN FTA was launched in 2010, the win-win situation in the economy and trade has gained even greater vitality.Xi said China was committed to mutually beneficial development, resulting in growing gains in trade and economic cooperation.C
6、hina has provided financial support to ASEAN to the best of its ability by setting up the China-ASEAN Investment Cooperation Fund and making concessional loans to facilitate economic development in ASEAN countries.Francis Chua, Chairman Emeritus of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, pa
7、rticipated in the summit. He said the growth of China-ASEAN ties have contributed to the regions integration process and brought real benefits to people in the region.The China-ASEAN cooperation is well established and has grown so much. I believe that by 2015, China-ASEAN trade will outpace China-U
8、.S. or China-European trade. This is a great development because it shows that prosperity in Asia can be created between China and ASEAN. As for cooperation between China and the Philippines, Chua said the Philippine government was paying more attention to this years expo.Im sure youve seen that the
9、 Philippines has sent a big contingent here aside from government officials - different people from the private sectors. It demonstrates the Philippines continuous efforts to have peaceful development and progress with China.Chau added that he was convinced that with joint efforts, China would work
10、with ASEAN countries for a better future of friendship and cooperation.The cooperation will be long-lasting. Just like any road, sometimes it will be bumpy, but the important thing is that we walk along the same road to reach a common destination.The Expo, namely 10+1, was proposed by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao eight years ago as a platform for elites in this region to exchange views on accelerating economic development and creating a better trade environment.For CRI, I am Luo Laiming reporting from the China-ASEAN summit in Nanning.