China and ASEAN countries will promote their own "Cities of Charm" on the second China-ASEAN Expo to be held from Oct 19-22 in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Eleven cities represent the unique flavor of their own countries, including Beijing of China, the City of Singapore, Chiang Mai of Thailand, Jakarta of Indonesia and Hanoi of Vietnam,said Li Jinzao, secretary-general of the organizing committee at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office in Beijing Thursday.

Li said the "City of Charm" will extend country-to-country cooperation among cities, and further increase the influence of the Expo in ASEAN countries.

These "Cities of Charm" boast large numbers of exhibitors and investment projects, which lays a good foundation for sustainable development of the Expo, said Li.

The committee said the promotion on the "Cities of Charm" will be one of the major themes of the successive Expos, and each country will choose one or two cities as the "City of Charm" to be promoted at the Expo every year.

According to statistics from China's customs, trade volume between China and ASEAN hit 59.76 billion US dollars in the first half of this year, up 25 percent year-on-year, and ASEAN has become China's fourth largest trade partner.

Source: Xinhua