Though China has dozens of expos each year, more than 2,500 enterprises from China, southeast Asia and other regions applied for the first China-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Expo, twice of the expected number.

World leading companies of Siemens, Ericsson, Mitsubishi, WalMart and Amway are all participants in the expo.

"Behind the enterprises' passion for the expo are huge potentials of economic and trade cooperation between China and theASEAN countries," said Lin Guoqiang, mayor of Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Statistics with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) show that the trade volume between China and ASEAN reached 78.2 billion US dollars in 2003, up 42.8 percent over the previous year. The ASEANhas been China's fifth largest trading partner for 11 consecutive years.

From January to September this year, bilateral trade between China and the ASEAN has already registered at 75.453 billion US dollars with an increase of 35.6 percent year-on-year.

The total trade volume between the two sides was expected to reach 100 billion yuan (12 billion US dollars) this year, said Lin.

The vast trade volume makes this a huge business opportunity, said Lin.

At the China-ASEAN Expo to open here Tuesday in Nanning, over 1,500 enterprises, 19 of which are among the World's Top 500, will showcase their updated products and probe for more cooperation. More than 200 categories of products from 11 sectors will be presented at the expo, including machinery, household electric appliances, electronic and IT products, automobile and spare parts,hardware and construction materials and textile products.

MOC spokesman Chong Quan said Tuesday at a press conference that the China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone would be fully launched in 2005 as scheduled. The free trade zone, which is set to be finallyestablished in 2010, is expected to attract more and more businesses.

Some enterprises from Shenzhen in the neighboring Guangdong Province have already started their own companies in Guangxi, which is considered the most convenient passage connecting China with ASEAN.

By 2006, China and the ASEAN will abolish taxes on more than 600 products, including agricultural products, livestock products and aquatic products.

This would enlarge the area of cooperation between China and the ASEAN countries in agriculture, said Zhang Xiaoqin, with the organization committee of the China-ASEAN Expo.

In order to satisfy the demand of more enterprises, Nanning plans to open 1,500 more exhibition booths for the China-ASEAN Expo next year, said Li Jinzao, vice chairman of Guangxi.

Source:Xinhua