BEIJING - Improvements to trade, investment and transportation will strengthen the foundation of the China-ASEAN free-trade zone, said top regional officials.

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"China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are friendly neighbors and important strategic partners," said Chen Wu, vice-chairman of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

"Cooperation with ASEAN has improved greatly since last January when the free-trade zone was established."

Trade volume between China and ASEAN nations increased 37 percent last year to $292 billion, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Chen said the China-ASEAN Expo has performed an essential role to enhance trade.

During the past seven expos in the autonomous region's capital, Nanning, since 2004, the total volume of trade exceeded $9.8 billion, according to the secretariat of the China-ASEAN Expo based in Nanning. The contracts of cross-country projects reached $41.7 billion.

Ma Biao, chairman of Guangxi, said the expo will be developed into a place where Chinese and ASEAN businessmen can find more opportunities to invest and trade.

In Liuzhou, an industrial hub of Guangxi, trade volume hit 2.9 billion yuan ($441 million) last year, said Chen Gang, Party chief of Liuzhou.

More than one-third of the trade was with ASEAN countries and many of the city's companies are very enthusiastic to participate in the China-ASEAN Expo, he said.

Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia are major trade partners of the city, Chen said.

"The prospects of trade with ASEAN countries are bright as ASEAN has advantages in labor costs and a huge potential market," Chen said. "We'll keep encouraging automakers, machinery manufacturers and textile producers to set up their branches in ASEAN nations."

He added that Liuzhou's automakers plan to set up factories in Thailand next year.

Meanwhile, Guangxi will keep improving its infrastructure to better cooperate with ASEAN nations.

In the next five years, the autonomous region will complete State-level highways in seven cities including Nanning, Liuzhou and Guilin.

The region will build at least 18 expressways connecting neighboring provinces and ASEAN nations by the end of 2015, said Zhang Yuanxin, director of the Guangxi Development and Reform Commission.

By 2015, the mileage of highways in the region will reach 115,000 km, according to the Guangxi Department of Transportation. The cargo throughput of ports at Beibu Gulf will also be upgraded to 330 million tons a year, making the autonomous region an international shipping center facing the ASEAN member nations.

Wang Huazhong and Huang Feifei contributed to this story.