(Photo courtesy of the organizer of the event)

Chengdu welcomed more than 30 ASEAN guests from different industries on September 17, who have travelled from overseas for an inspection tour to kick off the 2019 ASEAN-Chengdu Economic and Trade Cooperation Week.

The 2019 ASEAN-Chengdu Economic and Trade Cooperation Week, hosted by Chengdu Municipal People's Government and organized by Chengdu Municipal Foreign Affairs Office and Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Commerce, aims at bolstering exchanges between the southwestern Chinese city and ASEAN for further cooperation.

During the six-day event, 40 business officials, commerce associations and representatives of well-known enterprises from eight ASEAN countries were invited to Chengdu for an inspection tour to understand its urban and industrial development in an all-round way, and to connect in terms of resources, markets, projects, and so on.

In the "Belt and Road" construction and the promotion of westward opening-up strategy, Chengdu, as a national central city, shoulders the important mission of building the western international portal and hub that transitions from East and West China and connects Europe and Asia. Economic and trade cooperation with ASEAN has always been an essential factor in Chengdu's opening up to the outside world. ASEAN has always maintained friendly exchanges with Chengdu. "This is why we chose ASEAN as our 'partner' for this cooperation week," explained Zhang Wen, Deputy Director of Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Commerce.

(Photo courtesy of the organizer of the event)

Zhang Yanwei, Deputy Director of Chengdu Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, also told the guests that "through the one-week event, more friends from ASEAN countries will experience 'Made-in-Chengdu' products in deeper dimensions."

"We are heartened by the increasingly close and deep cooperation between Chengdu and ASEAN in recent years. When we come to Chengdu this time, we very much hope to have more extensive and deeper exchanges with Chengdu enterprises based on our needs."

Tan Yuvaroath, Deputy General Director of the General Administration of Trade Promotion of the Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia, said that in the context of economic globalization, many cities are enabling enterprises to enjoy "dividends" in the process of opening up to the outside world, and Chengdu is sincere in its efforts.

Law Yee Tee, CEO of Xinyi Technology Group in Penang of Malaysia, holds the same view. "This kind of gracious invitation makes me want to know more about this city. I am very excited to see the rapid development of Chengdu, and I look forward to collaboration through this exchange."

The "Cooperation Week" selected guests for the event to facilitate the connection between the two sides more efficiently. The organizers of the event noted that the ASEAN guests and enterprises are from different industries including automobile, finance, information technology, international trade, electronic manufacturing and electronic products retail, all of which closely correlate with current Chengdu-Europe cooperation. In the days to come, they will experience Chengdu's business climate to understand the general situation of its industries. "As Chengdu moves towards the world, ASEAN is an indispensable partner. Chengdu attaches great importance to southward economic and trade cooperation, has the will to strengthen economic and trade cooperation with ASEAN countries under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, and shares the dividend of open development," said Zhang Wen.

(Photo courtesy of the organizer of the event)

After the launch ceremony, guests went to Chengdu Planning Exhibition Hall, Shuangliu Free Trade Enterprise Service Center and other places of interest for inspection.

Every week, Chengdu sees more than 170 direct flights to Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries. It has completed four southbound railway channels to and from Sichuan as well as eight expressways. As the "Chengdu-Europe+" ASEAN international railway-sea intermodal trains run smoothly, the transportation pattern of the southbound thoroughfare has been initially formed. These routes and railways become a link for Chengdu to connect with the world.

In the first eight months of this year, the volume of imports and exports between Chengdu and ASEAN countries totaled 75.5 billion yuan, an increase of 24.7 percent. ASEAN has become Chengdu's largest export destination market. More than 1,400 Chengdu-based enterprises have established direct economic and trade relations with ASEAN, investing in 145 ASEAN enterprises and institutions. Chengdu has already developed a close partnership with seven ASEAN cities.