Foreign businessmen seek opportunities at China-ASEAN Expo

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Foreign businessmen seek opportunities at China-ASEAN Expo

(Xinhua) 08:14, September 05, 2013

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NANNING, Sept. 4 -- Businessmen from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries have swarmed into south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where they hope to find commercial opportunities at the ongoing China-ASEAN Expo.

The expo that opened Tuesday in Nanning, capital of Guangxi, has drawn some 2,300 companies and around 120 business delegations from China and the ASEAN. More than 5,000 booths have been set up for the exhibitors to display their products at the four-day expo.

"China has been enjoying good economic development and it has a huge market, where lots of people have shown interests in our products. I think we can sell more products here and find more opportunities," said Vietnamese exhibitor Nguyen Thi Quynh in broken Chinese.

Nguyen is attending the expo for the first time, bringing Vietnamese specialties like dried fruit snacks. She said her friend has made a fortune in China and introduced her to explore the Chinese market.

Although China has witnessed a slowing economy amid the world economic recession, ASEAN businessmen remain upbeat about the country's overall economy and expect to benefit from more bilateral trade.

"We never feel worried about China's economy," said Zhang Jinquan, secretary of the Chinese Committee of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Zhang said China's economy is undergoing a slowdown in growth, but it is not at crisis stage yet.

"Indonesia relies a lot on imports of commodities from China and we hope more Chinese enterprises can invest in our country," Zhang said, adding that he looks forward to more economic cooperation with Chinese partners.

In 2003, China and the ASEAN established a strategic partnership, which has proved a big success over the past decade.

Two-way trade between China and the ASEAN exceeded 400 billion U.S. dollars last year, about five times that of 2003. China is the ASEAN's biggest trade partner while the ASEAN has become the third-largest to China.

（Editor：ZhangQian、Yao Chun）