Data show that total volume of foreign service trade between China and ASEAN increased from $17.9 billion in 2007 to $26.8 billion in 2010, an increase of 49.7 percent. Apart from the slight decline caused by the financial crisis in 2009, the bilateral trade volume keeps rising on the whole.

Currently, China is ASEAN's fourth biggest service trade partner while ASEAN remains to be China's fifth biggest partner in the same area.

The upcoming 12th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO), to be held in Nanning, Guangxi, from Sept 18 to 21, will act as an irreplaceable platform to promote The Belt and Road Initiative and facilitate the China-ASEAN maritime cooperation.

Encouraging financial cooperation, creating business opportunities

The 12th CAEXPO will continue to hold a service trade display, showing visitors achievements in financial cooperation, tourism services and cultural exchange between China and the ASEAN countries.

Various activities planned to take place during the course of CAEXPO include a financial services exhibition that will highlight financial policies, business scopes, service concept of financial institutions in China and the ASEAN countries, and financial services products such as gold transaction unsecured loans, international clearing and enterprise financing.

The major meetings and forums include the 7th China-ASEAN Financial Cooperation and Development Leaders Forum, Enterprises Cross-border Investment and Trade Cooperation Fair and the 3rd Pan-Beibu Gulf Equity Investment Forum.

This year's exhibition in service trade has attracted prominent Chinese financial institutions such as Bank of China, China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Shanghai Gold Exchange and Guangxi Rural Credit Cooperative to CAEXPO in Nanning. High levels of communication and cooperation are to take place between these financial institutions and other participating enterprises.

"City of Charm" promotes tourism services

Not only do China and the ASEAN countries have cooperation in the financial area, but they also have achievements in tourism services.

Statistics show that about 7.32 million Chinese travelled to the ASEAN countries in 2012, thrice as many as the number of Chinese tourists in 2002. The number of visitors from China to the region exceeded 10 million in 2013. The abundant tourism resources, geographical advantage and a long history of friendship shape the tourism cooperation between China and the ASEAN countries.

As an important part of the service trade activities in expo, tourism service exhibition will closely collaborate with the cities of charm event, mainly showcasing cultural tourism resources, city images, tourism cooperation projects and tourism services in China and the ASEAN countries.

This year's cities of charm at the 12th CAEXPO are all confirmed. They are Hong Kong of China, Bandar Seri Begawan of Brunei, Phnom Penh of Cambodia, Kepulauan Riau of Indonesia, Oudomxay of Lao PDR, Malacca of Malaysia, Dawei of Myanmar, Zamboanga city of the Philippines, Singapore, Chonburi province of Thailand and Dong Thap province of Vietnam.

It is noteworthy that Hong Kong, as China's city of charm, will showcase itself in finance, modern services, creative culture, logistics, tourism, and infrastructure construction. It will also hold a promotional press conference and an economic and trade exchange meeting during the expo.

Leading cultural industry to prosperity

With the platform that CAEXPO has been providing over many years, cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and the ASEAN countries have become closer and deeper. The service trade display in the 12th CAEXPO will emphasize the cultural industrial project cooperation and lead to higher level and wider field cultural cooperation between China and ASEAN.

2015 is a significant year in promoting The Belt and Road Initiative. With further deepening and development of the Initiative, the scope, manner and connotation of trade among both sides will be upgraded to unprecedented levels. The service trade exhibition of the 12th CAEXPO will help enterprises in China and the ASEAN countries achieve more in economy and trade and lead to new cooperation modes.