China and ASEAN jointly launched an Expo on Wednesday in Nanning, capital city of its southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, to showcase their economic cooperation and closer trade ties.

Chinese Vice-Premier Wu Yi, Laotian Prime Minister Bounnhang, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Prime Minister Soe Win of Myanmar, among others, inaugurated the exposition that will be held annually in Nanning from now on.

Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai said in his address to the opening ceremony that the expo would further enhance the mutual understanding between the business communities of China and the ASEAN countries, provide them with more opportunities for cooperation, strengthen trade and economic cooperation between China and the ASEAN countries and provide conditions the establishment and development of the China-ASEAN free trade area.

More than 1,500 companies from China, ASEAN member nations and other countries participated in the expo. Among them, 19 companies are from World's Top 500.

More than 200 categories of products from 11 industrial sectors were to be displayed at the Expo, such as machinery, household appliances, electronic and IT products, automobile and parts, hardware and construction materials, agricultural products, pharmaceuticals and chemical products, and light industry and textile goods. Thirty-two percent of the exhibition stalls are from the ASEAN nations and other countries and regions.

On the sideline of the expo, Chinese and ASEAN business people, scholars, experts and officials are also expected to attend the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit.

In recent years, political ties between China and the ASEAN nations have been developing and expanding smoothly, while marked progress has been scored in bilateral trade, two-way investment, project contracting and labor services.

Bilateral trade between China and the ASEAN has been growing at an annual rate of 20 percent since 1990. In 2003, trade volume between China and ASEAN reached 78.2 billion US dollars, a rise of 42.8 percent over the previous year. The ASEAN has become China's fifth largest trading partner in the past 11 consecutive years.