The 16th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) is held in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from September 21 to 24, 2019. Running in parallel is the 16th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (CABIS).

Inaugurated in 2004 as platforms to facilitate the implementation of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, CAEXPO and CABIS have, developed into a regularized annual flagship event over the years, showcasing and enhancing comprehensive cooperation between China and the ASEAN in a wide range of areas from trade, investment, technology, agriculture, services and cultural exchanges.

This year, the designated ASEAN country of honor is Indonesia. More notably, Poland is the first European country to attend the events as a special guest. This is a clear recognition of the constructive role that Warsaw played in China’s economic engagement in Europe through the 17+1 China-Central and Eastern European Countries cooperation format.

… Ji Xianbai is a research fellow with the International Political Economy Program of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. The article reflects the author’s opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.