Xinhua News Agency reporters Wang Jiawei, Guo Yifan and Huang Haoming

More than 1,600 enterprises participated in offline exhibitions, nearly 100 online and offline economic and trade activities, and more than 100,000 square meters of exhibition area... The four-day 19th China-Asean Expo and the China-Asean Business and Investment Summit have come to an end.

Under the background of the effective implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the East Expo, as a window for dialogue and exchange as well as a trade and investment platform between China and ASEAN, has been expanding in scale and increased in international participation. It has further consolidated synergy for regional development and injected strong impetus to regional economic integration and trade and investment facilitation. International observers believe that under the vision of mutual benefit and a shared future between China and ASEAN, closer cooperation in various fields is bearing fruits and spreading the fruits to all sides.

We will provide solid support for regional cooperation through mature mechanisms

Since the establishment of dialogue relations between China and ASEAN over 30 years ago, the two sides have strengthened cooperation in such areas as economic and trade exchanges, investment cooperation and connectivity, and continued to innovate, establish and improve relevant mechanisms, thus opening up broader space for China-Asean cooperation and providing solid support for regional cooperation.

With the mission of promoting the construction of China-Asean Free Trade Area, the East Expo has been held for 19 consecutive years. The stable and mature mechanism for hosting the Expo has increasingly become an important platform for dialogue and cooperation between China and ASEAN. It has helped exhibitors from different countries to reach new cooperation and promoted steady and long-term regional economic and trade cooperation.

In a video address at the opening ceremony of the Expo, President Marcos of the Philippines said that the Expo has strengthened cooperation between China and ASEAN in various fields and served as a "touchstone" for Philippine products to enter the Chinese market, benefiting many Philippine companies. He also said he hopes to attract more Chinese companies to invest and operate in the Philippines through the East Expo.

This year marks the first year of the China-Asean comprehensive strategic partnership and the first year of the implementation of the RCEP. As a free trade agreement that China and ASEAN have actively participated in and brought into force, the RCEP will help build a more open, free and mutually beneficial market environment. Li Yan, Chairman of Petronas China, said the RCEP will help promote regional industrial circulation and division of labor cooperation, form a mechanism of resource and technology complementarity, and help member countries fully leverage their advantages in international trade.

Looking back, in the process of building and improving cooperation mechanisms between China and ASEAN, from the establishment of the China-Asean Free Trade Area to the signing and entry into force of the RCEP, from promoting the Belt and Road Initiative to building new international land and sea trade routes... With mature and effective cooperation mechanisms, China and ASEAN have strongly supported the steady and long-term development of regional cooperation.

We will provide an inexhaustible driving force for common development with fruitful results

19, the 19th East Expo, Vietnam Zhongyuan coffee has never been absent. With the help of the East Expo platform, the enterprise started the signboard, expand the market. "The East Expo strongly promotes the development of enterprises in China." Vietnam Zhongyuan Group Co., LTD. Shanghai representative office sales director Li Wuqiang said.

Under the new mode of combining online and offline, the "365 days of never-ending East Expo" has produced fruitful results. A total of 267 international and domestic cooperation projects were signed at the Expo, with a total investment of over 400 billion yuan, an increase of 37% over the last one. The total investment in signed projects reached a new high, adding impetus to regional cooperation and global economic development.

Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policy of Singapore, said that the world is facing multiple challenges. The IBO Expo is an important platform for China and ASEAN to explore new opportunities, and provides an opportunity for both sides to study the direction of future economic and trade cooperation. Through the East Expo Platform, the two sides can effectively address current challenges and contribute to regional and global growth and common development.

Today, China and ASEAN are the second and fifth largest economies in the world, respectively, contributing more than 30 percent to the global economy. Despite the complex and volatile international environment, bilateral trade has maintained an upward momentum and contributed to global economic growth. Statistics show that in the first eight months of this year, the total value of trade between China and ASEAN was 4.09 trillion yuan, up 14% year-on-year; By the end of July this year, the cumulative two-way investment exceeded US $340 billion.

Increasingly close exchanges and dialogue, diversified areas of cooperation and growing economic and trade data between the two sides are providing inexhaustible impetus to boost regional economic development and bring benefits to the two billion people in the region. Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tun Bamuwinai said that strengthening ties between ASEAN and China will help regional economic recovery and improve the resilience of economic development.

We will pursue win-win cooperation for regional stability and development

As good neighbors, good friends and good partners, China and ASEAN have developed friendly and cooperative relations and are committed to promoting win-win development. Under the theme of "Sharing New Opportunities of RCEP and Boosting China-Asean Free Trade Area Version 3.0", the Expo showcases the important consensus of the two sides on the high-quality implementation of RCEP and their determination to upgrade their economic and trade cooperation for mutual benefit and win-win results.

Lao Deputy Prime Minister Song Sai said that China's initiatives and ideas have further tapped the growth potential of the China-Asean Free Trade Area, narrowed the development gap between ASEAN member states, and further integrated development between ASEAN and China.

Win-win cooperation is the only way forward for Asia's development. Guided by the vision of inclusive and win-win cooperation, China-Asean relations have been playing a leading and exemplary role in regional cooperation, setting a benchmark for the most dynamic, fruitful and promising regional cooperation. CAI Weicai, senior Vice President of Kaitai Bank of Thailand, believes that ASEAN and China are two very important and large-scale markets with full potential in the future. Close cooperation between the two markets will play an important role in promoting the long-term prosperity and stability of the world economy.

The core of the successful practice of China-Asean relations, which have been carried out side by side for more than three decades, is to enhance mutual trust, coordinate cooperation and seek common prosperity. This will guide the direction of regional economic development, meet the common interests and aspirations of regional development, and create a strong synergy for the building of a China-Asean community of shared future.

Gather people's hearts, gather forces. As a big family linked by mountains and rivers and with a shared future, China and ASEAN are moving forward hand in hand, embracing development opportunities with a common vision, and working together to build "five homelands" of peace, tranquility, prosperity, beauty and friendship. (Participating journalists: Julily, Zhao Huan, Wang Yaguang)