written by Gao Hang / translated by Gao Qianqian, Ma Jinyu

First Overseas Exhibition of CAEXPO: What Does It Mean for China-Thailand Cooperation?

written by Gao Hang / translated by Gao Qianqian, Ma Jinyu

In April 2-4, the 2015 CAEXPO Thai Exhibition, which is the first overseas exhibition of CAEXPO, was held at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Center, Thailand. Party Secretary of CPC Guangxi Committee Peng Qinghua, Permanent Secretary of the Thai Ministry of Commerce H. E. Chutima Bunyapraphasara, Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Thailand Zhang Peidong, as well as relevant organizations and personages, cut the ribbon for the exhibition. There were approximately 200 enterprises attending the exhibition, including Bank of China, Optics Valley Beidou, and Rubber Valley.

This is the first step for the CAEXPO to hold overseas exhibitions. But this one small step would bring great changes to China-Thailand cooperation and China-ASEAN cooperation.

Via overseas exhibitions, the CAEXPO would be known to more Thai enterprises, which would be attracted to attend the exhibition, through which they could enter the Chinese market and even the world market. The CAEXPO Thai Exhibition is trying a new way to advertise and publicize the CAEXPO.

What’s the Foundation for Guangxi-Thailand Cooperation?

Party Secretary of CPC Guangxi Committee Peng Qinghua introduced at the “China-ASEAN Expo and Guangxi-Thailand Economic Cooperation Meeting”, Guangxi has new positioning and new mission in its foreign development. Chinese President Xi Jinping has given an all-round and authoritative interpretation of the positioning – Guangxi needs to make good use of its unique advantage of connecting ASEAN both by land and sea to speed up the development of Beibu Gulf Economic Zone and Pearl River-Xijiang River Economic Belt, establish an ASEAN-oriented international channel, and make itself an important gateway to bridge the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and the Silk Road Economic Belt.

Export and import between Thailand and Guangxi enjoys an annual average growth of 24.5%, which means there are good cooperation foundations and colossal business opportunities for China and Thailand. With the advance of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Thailand, lying at the Indo-China Peninsula, is connected to China by both land and sea. So, the advance of the Maritime Silk Road would undoubtedly bring opportunities for Thai enterprises.

Currently, the upgraded version of CAFTA is under negotiation. As the“booster” for the CAFTA, the CAEXPO is also incubating its upgrade version. The CAEXPO, which has won the support from the government, is deemed as the highest-level national exhibition. From serving the “10+1”to “10+6”, the CAEXPO would not only promote the economic and trade exchanges between China and ASEAN, but extend its influence to Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India.

By attending the CAEXPO, one gets the key to the markets of 16 countries. So, the CAEXPO as a platform is exerting more prominent infl uence.

What does Thailand Need?

H. E. Chutima Bunyapraphasara claimed that after 11 years’development, the CAEXPO is proceeding and improving towards the right direction. “The CAEXPO is an important platform for the cooperation between Thailand and China. On seeing the benefits offered by this platform, more Thai enterprises want to attend the CAEXPO. In the past, itwas the manufacturing enterprises that are willing to attend the expo in Nanning. Now, more investment enterprises are showing their interest in attending the CAEXPO.”

“Guangxi is the bridge for Thailand-China cooperation, through which thousands of Thai enterprises have invested in China. We need more booths than the CAEXPO have offered us. I hope the China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat could allocate more booths to Thai enterprises”, said H. E. Chutima Bunyapraphasara.

“The 40th anniversary of the establishment of China-Thailand diplomatic ties is a good opportunity that should be seized by the two countries to better promote their bilateral cooperation. We need to make more eff orts to realize the goal of $100 billion trade between the two countries. But it must be done”. Meanwhile, H. E. Chutima Bunyapraphasara hoped that “China could purchase more farm products from Thailand since we have a lot of good farm products. And there are still great space for China and Thailand to carry out cooperation in agricultural products and railway.

H. E. Phinij Jarusombat, former Vice Prime Minister of Thailand and President of Thai-Chinese Cultural & Relationships Council believed, China has achieved great success in economic development and its decades of highspeed growth brings opportunities to the world. “Thailand appreciates China’s establishment of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which will benefit ASEAN”. He also put forward the demand for Chinese enterprises, “We welcome China’s high-level and high standard products and enterprises to enter Thailand”. He also added, “Every Thai state government says that China and Thailand are as close family, which is not found in other countries. China also holds the same view. It is expected that Thai-Chinese commercial circle can make good use of our friendly relations to develop the economic and trade cooperation between the two sides”.

What Can the CAEXO Do?

“Every visit in Thailand makes me feel good. Thai products like fragrant rice, fruits, and sneakers are sold in China’s supermarkets and shops, and are familiar to Chinese customers. This reveals that the cooperation between the two sides has been deepened, which have benefited from the sound cooperation and the platform -- the CAEPO”, Wang Lei, Secretary General of China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat said when introducing the information of the CAEXPO in Thailand.

He also said, “The CAEXPO is a recognized platform for China-ASEAN cooperation, which is jointly organized by China and the 10 ASEAN countries and hosted by Guangxi. It has been held for 11 years and seen as one of China’s top-level international communication platforms, along with Boao Forum for Asia and Summer Davos. The CAEXPO also plays an important role in promoting China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation and the construction of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.”

Leaders of Thailand participated in the CAEXPO for several times and Chinese leaders also attended the grand event each year. 57 heads of state/government of China and the 10 ASEAN countries and over 2,300 ministerial-level VIPs attended the previous 11 CAEXPOs. Leaders’ meetings and high-level talks between business people and officials were held during the CAEXPO, which helps enterprises know about the planning and investment wind vane of different countries and helps them find buyers and investment projects. To meet the needs in all aspects, the CAEXPO also hosted a series of meetings and forums in the fields of customs, supervision, inspection and quarantine, wharf, finance and people-to-people exchange. This is the way the CAEXPO works to transform consensus into practice, and then reap rich fruits from practice.

As Wang Lei introduced, development of the CAEXPO comes at the right time, right place and with the support of people. The right time means that Asian emerging market becomes an important driver of global economic growth and plays a unique role in global supply chain. The 21st Century “Maritime Silk Road”, the upgraded version of the CAFTA and RCEP negotiations help the CAEXPO keep improving. The right place refers to Nanning (China), the permanent venue for the CAEXPO, which is the frontier and widow of China-ASEAN cooperation. China steps up the construction of Beibu Gulf Economic Zone and Xijiang River Economic Belt and strives to be an important portal to link “One Belt, One Road”, which gains more and more attention of the world. The support means the close contacts between China-Thailand leaders and between China-ASEAN leaders, and the close cooperation between the departments of commerce as well as between the chambers of commerce. With this sound cooperation, the CAEXPO will help enterprises to realize common development of both sides and explore China-ASEAN market and even the world’s market.

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