China-ASEAN Expo opens with focus on CAFTA 3.0 opportunities
The venue of the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO), Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, September 15, 2026. (Photo: VCG)
The 23rd China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) opened on Thursday in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, highlighting new business opportunities under the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) 3.0 framework.
The expo, running from September 17 to 21, has attracted more than 3,400 companies from over 70 countries and regions. The exhibition area covers about 170,000 square meters, with the number of participating enterprises up 5.3% from the previous edition, according to organizers.
Timor-Leste is participating in the expo for the first time as a full ASEAN member and co-host, marking the first gathering of all 11 ASEAN member states in Nanning following the bloc's expansion.
The expo features products and projects covering traditional industries, digital communications, green development and artificial intelligence (AI). A dedicated AI marketplace is showcasing more than 500 products, while a new exhibition area will also focus on the needs of ASEAN countries, highlighting cooperation demands from ASEAN countries in areas including transportation, smart logistics, AI, urban management and industrial park development.
The new exhibition area is designed to facilitate more targeted cooperation through an intelligent matchmaking system. More than 8,000 pairs of potential cooperation partners have been pre-matched, while nearly 2,000 additional matchmaking sessions are scheduled during the expo.
The system has collected around 60 cooperation demand projects from ASEAN countries and matched them with nearly 40 high-quality Chinese projects to help companies pursue potential partnerships.
More than 50 trade and investment promotion activities are scheduled to take place during the expo, focusing on trade and investment facilitation, regional economic integration, and cross-border industrial and supply chain cooperation. The 23rd China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit is being held alongside the expo.
China and ASEAN are accelerating the implementation of the CAFTA 3.0 Upgrade Protocol, signed in October 2025, which covers areas including the digital economy and green development.
Economic ties between China and ASEAN have continued to deepen. Bilateral trade exceeded $1 trillion for the first time in 2025, reaching $1.05 trillion, up 7.4% year on year. In the first seven months of 2026, trade between the two sides reached $744.41 billion, up 24.7% year on year and accounting for 21.8% of China's total foreign trade.
China has remained ASEAN's largest trading partner for 17 consecutive years, while ASEAN has been China's largest trading partner for six consecutive years.
(With input from agencies)