Continue To Make The Cake Of Economic And Trade Cooperation Bigger—The 7Th China-South Asia Expo Will Be Held
The 7th China-South Asia Expo will be held in Kunming, Yunnan from August 16 to 20. It is jointly organized by the Ministry of Commerce and the Yunnan Provincial People's Government. It is one of the important economic and trade exchanges between China and South Asian countries this year. The State Council Information Office held a press conference on the 25th. Li Fei, Vice Minister of Commerce, Yang Bin, Vice Governor of Yunnan Province and relevant officials introduced the 7th China-South Asia Expo and the economic and trade cooperation between China and South Asia.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the "Belt and Road" initiative and the 10th year of the South China Expo. Li Fei told reporters that in recent years, we have worked with South Asian countries to uphold the spirit of openness, cooperation and tolerance, promote the integration of the "Belt and Road" initiative with the development strategies of South Asian countries, carry out in-depth economic and trade cooperation, and have achieved a series of results.
When the first South Asia Expo was held in 2013, the total trade volume between China and South Asian countries was less than 100 billion US dollars. By 2022, the total trade volume between China and South Asian countries will be close to 200 billion US dollars, with an average annual growth rate of 8.3%. China is the main trading partner of South Asian countries, and has been the largest trading partner of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Maldives and other countries for many years. Exports of aquatic products, tea, and nuts from South Asian countries to China have been increasing, and they are deeply loved by Chinese consumers.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has brought direct investment of US$25.4 billion to Pakistan, created 192,000 jobs, added 6,000 megawatts of electricity, 510 kilometers of highways and 886 kilometers of national core transmission grids. The first expressway was built in Sri Lanka, the Karnaphuri River Tunnel was built in Bangladesh, the first cross-sea bridge in history was built in Maldives, and the Pokhara International Airport in Nepal was put into operation. business card.
Li Fei said that the next step will continue to be guided by the strategic consensus of the leaders of the two sides, to further promote the "Belt and Road" initiative, with high standards, people's livelihood, and sustainability as the goals, focusing on key points, intensive cultivation, and continuous expansion of economic and trade cooperation Cake, tap new growth points of cooperation, and promote economic and trade relations between China and South Asian countries to a new level.
The predecessor of the South Asia Expo was the "South Asian Countries Commodity Exhibition", which began in 2007 and provided a special promotion platform for South Asian commodities. After 16 years of development, the China-South Expo has become a comprehensive expo platform integrating trade in goods, investment promotion, tourism cooperation and cultural exchanges, and has built an important bridge for China and South Asian countries to expand economic, trade and cultural exchanges with other countries and regions .
According to Yang Bin, there are 15 exhibition halls in this exhibition, and 14 in-session activities will be held. At present, more than 60 countries and regions have expressed their intention to participate in the exhibition. The Ministry of Commerce and the Yunnan Provincial Government attach great importance to this exhibition, adhering to the concept of "pragmatic, green, intelligent, convenient, safe and thrifty", and will welcome guests from all over the world and businessmen from all over the world with first-class service, first-class environment and first-class ecology.
In recent years, Yunnan has achieved remarkable results in promoting opening up and development. It has established 11 multilateral and bilateral cooperation mechanisms with South Asian and Southeast Asian countries. The number of cities with South Asian and Southeast Asian countries ranking first in the country, and established 106 pairs of sister cities with 37 countries. It has formed a matrix system of opening up to the outside world supported by multiple platforms such as free trade pilot zones, cross-border economic cooperation zones, comprehensive bonded zones, border economic cooperation zones, various ports, and South China Expo. In 2022, the GDP of Yunnan Province will be 2,895.4 billion yuan, an increase of 4.3%, and the import and export of foreign trade will increase by 6.3%.
Wang Liping, director of the Asian Department of the Ministry of Commerce, said that China and South Asian countries account for one-fifth of the world's total economic output. This is not only the world's largest emerging market, but also the world's fastest-growing and most dynamic region, with active trade and investment and cooperation. The potential is constantly released, and an industrial chain supply chain system of "I am in you and you in me" has been initially formed. China is willing to work with South Asian countries to jointly build a regional industrial chain supply chain system that is safe, stable, smooth and efficient, open and inclusive, and mutually beneficial.
One is to improve the level of facilitation. China is willing to work with all parties to implement the second-stage tax reduction arrangement of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement, the second amendment to the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement, and speed up the construction of free trade with Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and other countries. Work with Bangladesh, Nepal and other countries to implement the zero-tariff treatment for 98% of their tax items exported to China, promote the continuous improvement of the level of trade and investment facilitation in the region, and provide stronger institutional guarantees for the stability and integrated development of the regional industrial chain supply chain.
The second is to jointly create a good business environment. China is willing to work with South Asian countries to maintain international economic and trade rules, strengthen dialogue and coordination, enhance mutual trust, strengthen confidence in cooperation, improve logistics efficiency in the region, remove trade and investment barriers and unreasonable restrictions, and create a fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory business environment.
The third is to continuously innovate and develop kinetic energy. In-depth implementation of the memorandum of investment cooperation signed with Nepal and Bangladesh, digital cooperation and e-commerce cooperation memorandum with Pakistan, enhance capacity building, promote technological innovation, expand new areas of cooperation, and accelerate the construction of a resilient regional industrial chain supply chain system.