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China, ASEAN to cooperate in tackling global financial crisis

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-10-26 15:38

Officials, experts and business people attending the four-day 5th China-ASEAN Expo agreed that cooperation is important to help China and ASEAN countries cope with the negative impacts of the global financial crisis.

"As long as China and ASEAN fully cooperate, we're sure to overcome the global financial crisis," Nicholas Tandi Dammen, deputy secretary-general of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), said at the closing ceremony of the expo on Saturday.

Sixteen high-level forums were held on the sidelines of the expo held in Nanning, capital city of south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, focusing on China-ASEAN cooperation in trade, investment, telecommunications, infrastructure and agriculture.

As of 4 pm Saturday, trade volume at the expo hit $6.52 billion, said Li Jinzao, vice chairman of Guangxi regional government and deputy director of the expo's organizing committee. Total business turnover was nearly $1.6 billion, up 12.18 percent over the 4th expo.

The expo also attracted people's attention to the booming Beibu Gulf Economic Area, which covers Nanning, Qinzhou, Beihai and Fangchenggang cities, and brought potential opportunities for its future development, said Surin Pitsuwan, ASEAN secretary-general.

The Beibu Gulf Economic Area will be built into a base of logistics, business and trade, processing and manufacturing as well as information exchange amid the cooperation between China and ASEAN, according to a development plan ratified by the State Council, China's Cabinet, in January.

The 6th China-ASEAN Expo will be held from October 20 to 23 next year in the permanent venue of Nanning.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam with a total area of 4.5 million square kilometers.