19th China-ASEAN Expo concludes with record deals

Visitors buy commodities from Laos during the 19th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sept. 18, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua)

NANNING, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- The 19th China-ASEAN Expo concluded on Monday in Nanning, the capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with a record number of deals made.

A total of 267 domestic and international deals have been signed, with an investment of over 400 billion yuan (about 57 billion U.S. dollars), up 37 percent compared to last year, said Wei Zhaohui, the secretary-general of the expo's secretariat, at a press conference.

Eighty-eight online and offline economic and trade events were held in areas including new high-end metal materials, health, tourism and culture, new green chemical materials, and mechanical equipment manufacturing, according to Wei.

Covering 102,000 square meters, this year's expo attracted 1,653 enterprises from 40 countries, with 5,400 exhibition booths set up. The exhibition hall saw about 25,600 visits per day on average, up 19.2 percent compared to the last expo.

Since the first China-ASEAN Expo was held in 2004, the event has become a platform for ASEAN enterprises to enter the Chinese market.