Speech by Li Jinzao

Vice Co-chair and Secretary General of the China-ASEAN Expo Organizing Committee, Vice Co-chair of the China-ASEAN Business & Investment Summit Organizing Committee,Standing Member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Guangxi Committee, First Vice Governor ofGuangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning!

Just now H.E. Mr. Gao Hucheng, Vice Minister of Commerce of China has briefed you on the achievements gained by the China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) and the China-ASEAN Business & Investment Summit (CABIS) in the previous years. In fact, the previous 5 years have witnessed the successful staging of these two grand events, which was attributed to the efforts jointly pooled by the Co-sponsors in China and the 10 ASEAN countries and the guidance and support granted by the members of event Organizing Committees including the Ministry of Commerce of China (MOFCOM), the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the Ministry of Industry & Information of China and the State Council Information Office of China, as well as the keen attention and active participation of friends at home and abroad, in particular, friends from the press. On behalf of the CAEXPO Organizing Committee and Guangxi, the event Organizer, I hereby would like to extend to you my heartfelt appreciation.

The 5th CAEXPO and the 5th CABIS will be convened in Nanning , Guangxi, from October 22 to 25, 2008. This year happens to mark the 30th anniversary of China 's reform and opening up program, when construction of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) is expediting and regional cooperation is being expanded and enriched. Therefore, these two events, based on the sound outcomes of the previous 4 sessions, will be more distinctive and present more new highlights this year.

I. Number of booths to be used by the ASEAN countries will reach a new height, and more colorful and pragmatic programs are tailored for the CAEXPO Country of Honor.

The CAEXPO is the only exposition jointly sponsored by China and the 10 ASEAN countries. In recent years, ASEAN countries are increasingly enthusiastic about this event. At the 3rd CAEXPO, 2 ASEAN countries chartered exclusive exhibition halls to set up their own pavilion of commodity trade; At the 4th session, 5 ASEAN countries did so; And this year, the number has increased to 6 ASEAN countries, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam. ASEAN enterprises will totally use 1,154 booths, 30 ones more than that at the previous one, which is the largest number in the history of the CAEXPO.

Cambodia will be the Country of Honor of the 5th CAEXPO. H.E. Mr. Samdech Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia has confirmed his visit to the CAEXPO, along with his delegation, which will be his 5th visit to this grand event. During the CAEXPO, tailored programs will be arranged for the Country of Honor, including the Sino-Cambodian Entrepreneurs' Seminar and art performance of Cambodian art groups, etc., all of which has also been included in the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-Cambodian diplomatic relations. The Sino-Cambodian Entrepreneurs' Seminar in particular, which will be jointly sponsored by MOFCOM and its Cambodian counterpart, will release information on latest cooperation projects as well as the encouraging policies for attracting FDI, thus to make this program a bridge and platform for enhancing bilateral economic and trading cooperation.

II. More products with distinctive Chinese and ASEAN features will be showcased to spotlight the 4 CAEXPO exhibition themes/pavilions.

The 5th CAEXPO sets up 3,300 booths for 4 exhibition themes/pavilions, namely, the Pavilion of Commodity Trade, the Pavilion of Investment Cooperation, the Pavilion of Agricultural Applicable Technology and the Pavilion of Cities of Charm. Currently, enterprises of both sides have totally applied for 3,500 booths, and we are selecting quality ones among the applicants. Meanwhile, to better mirror the present China-ASEAN bilateral economic and trading cooperation, the CAEXPO will be a more professional showcase of commodities that enjoy market potentials in China and ASEAN.

The Pavilion of Commodity Trade caters more to the market demands of both sides: the 5th CAEXPO mainly display 3 categories of Chinese products including machinery & equipment, ICT products and building materials as well as ASEAN products such as electronics & electrical appliances, consumer goods, agro-based products, foodstuffs, furniture, jewelry & jades, palm oil and mineral products. The products with larger bilateral trading volumes and strong complementarities between China and ASEAN will be spotlighted. More famed and quality enterprises will participate as exhibitors, including Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (CHALCO), Lenovo China, Haier Group, Sinar Mas Group-APP China and Hai-O Enterprise Berhad of Malaysia.

The Pavilion of Investment Cooperation spotlights the overseas investing of Chinese enterprises and industrial parks. We have collected the updates on investment guides and relevant policies as well as 200 investment projects from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar and Viet Nam, covering infrastructure construction, machinery manufacturing, electric power industry, mining & metallurgical sector, high-tech, ICT and chemical industry. On display also includes China 's overseas industrial parks like the Thai-China Industrial Park in Rayong of Thailand and the Long Giang Industrial Park in Viet Nam , etc. MOFCOM and other Chinese competent ministries/commissions will also sign a batch of China 's major foreign-aid and economic cooperation projects for and with the ASEAN countries at the CAEXPO. This event, therefore, will facilitate the overseas investing of China-based enterprises, and thus strengthen China-ASEAN bilateral investment cooperation.

High-tech projects will be new spotlights of the Pavilion of Agricultural Applicable Technology: Sponsored by the Ministry of Science & Technology of China , this pavilion mainly exhibits projects of China 's Spark Program (a national plan aiming to promote local economy and encourage technical development) that cater to the ASEAN countries. And high-tech projects will be showcased this year for the first time. Apart from that, briefing conferences on agricultural applicable technologies will be arranged to promote cooperation between China and ASEAN in this regard.

The Pavilion of Cities of Charm spotlights information & communication technology (ICT) cooperation. For the 5th CAEXPO, this pavilion will theme on ICT cooperation, for which major ICT cities of China and the 10 ASEAN countries will be showcased as the Cities of Charm. Up till now, China and 9 ASEAN countries except the Philippines have preliminarily confirmed their respective City of Charm , including Suzhou of China, Bandar Seri Begawan of Brunei Darussalam, Phnom Penh of Cambodia, Bandong of Indonesia, Vientiane of Laos, Cyberjaya of Malaysia, YATANABON of Myanmar, Singapore , Phuket of Thailand and Hue of Viet Nam.

III. Effective business-matching services will be provided to create more business opportunities.

We, the organizer of the CAEXPO, will adhere to the Customer-oriented principle, and provide more business-friendly services for our exhibitors and trade visitors as well as optimize business pre-matching and on-site business matching programs, thus to yield richer economic and trading outcomes for participants.

Update and improve the China-ASEAN Business Database: we will continue to update and improve the China-ASEAN Business Database with over 2,000,000 entries of effective enterprise data of China and the ASEAN countries, and provide 365-day information services and economic cooperation promotion programs via this e-platform, so as to provide more efficient business matching services to businesses of both sides.

Explore new channels to invite more quality purchasers and trade visitors: We are working closely with local governments and major chambers of commerce in China to invite purchasers and trade visitors to the CAEXPO. Chinese provinces and cities like Ningbo , Shandong , Qingdao , Hangzhou and Shanghai have confirmed to organize sourcing groups to the 5th CAEXPO. Meanwhile, we are exploring new channels to invite trade visitors from outside the CAFTA region. Currently, we have delivered invitations to trade visitors of West Asian countries like the United Arab Emirates as well as other countries and regions around the world, including India , EU, the United States , Japan , Korea , etc.

Improve business matching programs during the fair period. We have drafted the Working Plans on On-site Trade and Project Matching Services, which clarify relevant procedures for trade and project matching services. In accordance with this working plan, we will streamline our working procedures to offer more effective services for those major sections and programs like the On-site Information Center, Exhibitors' Rostrum and Business Talk Sections. In addition, we have improved our on-site information service system by further optimizing its searching and matching functions, so that exhibitors and trade visitors could easily locate their target partners via this e-system.

IV. Multi-field cooperation is strengthened and concurrent conferences/forums on diversified themes and topics will be held.

Combination of exhibition and conference is a unique feature of the CAEXPO. As did at the previous years, concurrent events with the CAEXPO, including the CABIS and other high-end professional forums/seminars will be held to further promote China-ASEAN cooperation in various fields.

The 5th CABIS will be a more effective meeting place for participants to have in-depth communications. Theme of this CABIS is Broader Vision, Move Action, for which 2 theme conferences will be arranged, respectively on cooperation among Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and investment cooperation. State leaders, high-ranking government officials, business leaders, experts and scholars will be invited to address the conferences.

Cooperation in China-ASEAN priority fields is furthered. The 5th CAEXPO will spotlight the ICT cooperation. During the event, the Ministry of Industry & Information of China will sponsor the 3rd China-ASEAN ICT Week as well as relevant forums, such as the China-ASEAN ICT Ministers' Forum, the China-ASEAN ICT Entrepreneurs' Forum and the Radio Spectrum Management Forum. Participants will include ministers of competent ICT ministries of China and the 10 ASEAN countries, along with representatives from the ICT giants listed in the Fortune 500 and leading Chinese ICT enterprises. Major ICT cooperation projects will be also contracted during the fair period.

Multi-field and multi-leveled cooperation is further enriched. Totally 14 forums and conferences that will involve high-profiled participants will be staged concurrently with the 5th CAEXPO, including the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Roundtable Meeting for Investment Promotion Agencies sponsored by the MOFCOM, the China-ASEAN Conference of Ministers of Information sponsored by the State Council Information Office of China and the China-ASEAN Transportation Cooperation Forum sponsored by the Ministry of Transport of China, together with the existing ones including the China-ASEAN Women's Forum, the China-ASEAN Electric Power Cooperation Forum and the CAFTA Legal Forum, etc. This year, we will make better arrangement for the above-mentioned events to facilitate the participants.

During the 5th CAEXPO, various cultural and sports events will be continued, as did in the previous years, including the Gala Performance for the Nanning International Art Festival of Folk Songs 2008, the China-ASEAN Golf Elites' Invitational, etc., thus to promote friendly exchanges among peoples.

V. Improve supporting services and ensure a business-friendly exhibition atmosphere for participants.

The 5th CAEXPO will offer professional and considerate service package for participants and create a sound environment for business talks. Encouraging measures will include: the imported exhibits, if in reasonable amount, will be exempted from import duties when retailed during the fair period; input more efforts to protect legitimate rights and interests of participants including the Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs); optimize on-site services, run more battery-powered shuttle vehicles at the event venue, and maintain the rates for services provided at the main venue at a reasonable level, comparing to those of other major exhibitions and trade fairs held in China; and improve on-site catering services, serving Made-in-Malaysia Halal food for Muslin participants.

We will perfect our Participant E-Information Platform and the Event Pass Administration System, adopting e-tickets, exclusive VIP Pass , pass-issuing service at hotels as well as other measures to improve working efficiency. We will continue to open temporary direct chartered flights between Nanning and major ASEAN cities during the CAEXPO, and enhance cooperation with designated local departments which are responsible for the reception of trade delegations from different countries, thus to provide quality reception services for participants.

Ladies and gentlemen, this year will see the 50th anniversary of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Driven by the CAEXPO, Guangxi has become an increasingly important player in regional cooperation. In this January, the Chinese central government approved the Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone Development Scheme, as well as the establishment of the Bonded Zone of Qinzhou later in May, which creates new opportunities for further development of Guangxi and also a broader platform for the CAEXPO. The 5th CAEXPO will, in a full panorama, showcase Guangxi's latest economic and social development and its key projects, release business opportunities and projects of the Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone, particularly, the development strategies, major industrial parks and projects of this Economic Zone, so that enterprises at home and abroad could, via the CAEXPO, access more easily to the enormous business opportunities of this Economic Zone. And we will continue to develop the CAEXPO as a platform for further enhancing cooperation between Chinese provinces/municipalities and the ASEAN countries.

The 5th CAEXPO and the 5th CABIS will embrace participants from around the world with more business opportunities. And we also cordially invite friends from the press to Guangxi to cover these two grand events and to experience Guangxi's robust economic growth and vigorous opening up to the outside world.

Thank you all!