Fruitful Results in 30-year Dialogue Relations and A New Chapter for 18-year CABIS： 18th CABIS Achieves New Results

From 10th to 11th September, 2021, the 18th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (CABIS) were held in Nanning, Guangxi, China. This year’s CABIS and China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) will be held at the same time. The theme of this year’s CABIS is “Sharing Opportunities Created by the New Land-Sea Corridor, Building the China-ASEAN Community with a Shared Future”. Mr. Xi Jinping, President of China, sent his congratulations to this year’s CAEXPO and CABIS. Mr. Wang Qishan, Vice President of China, read Xi’s letter of congratulation and delivered a remark on the opening ceremony. State leaders of ASEAN countries also delivered their remarks via video clips on the opening ceremony.

Fruitful Results in 30-year Dialogue Relations and A New Chapter for 18-year CABIS。 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of China-ASEAN dialogue relations, the China-ASEAN Year of Sustainable Development, and the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-Laos diplomatic relations. In this special period, there were 3 events within the framework of CABIS, namely the Round-table Dialogue between the State Leader of Laos and CEOs from China (herein after referred to as the Round-table), the China-ASEAN Business Leaders Forum & Special Meeting on the 30th Anniversary of China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations, and the Symposium on China-ASEAN Commercial Legal Cooperation. These events have comprehensively deepened the China-ASEAN cooperation, serving as the practical platform for exchange and cooperation in the course of constructing the China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

Co-sponsoring CABIS for the First Time, Sharing New Opportunities

The 30 years of China-ASEAN dialogue relations proved worthwhile. For the past 3 decades, economic cooperation has been increasing, with the scale of trade increased 85-fold. In 2020, ASEAN became the largest trading partner of China, and China has been ASEAN’s largest trading partner for 12 consecutive years. In the first half of 2021, the bilateral trade increased 38.2% on a year-on-year basis and revealed the momentum of further growth.

The results of 30-year cooperation also have been benefiting the people, which were highly spoken of by China and ASEAN countries. H.E. Mr. Jurin Laksanawisit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce of Thailand, said in his video remark presented in the Business Leaders Forum that for 30 years, China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership has gain fruitful results in the cooperation of economy, political security, and social exchanges, making China and ASEAN the crucial cooperation partners and the most vital strategic partners of each other. China is deepening its relations with ASEAN and Thailand, developing closer cooperation. Both sides are adhering to the principle of mutual respect and seeking mutual development and prosperity in various areas through joint efforts.

“For 3 decades, the commerce and industry community of China and ASEAN have joined hands to promote the construction of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the negotiation of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). They have contributed a lot to the constant development of China-ASEAN economic cooperation,” said Gao Yan, Chairperson of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and Director of the CABIS Organizing Committee, during the Business Leaders Forum.

One thing worth mentioning is, this CABIS invited 10 national chambers of commerce and industry from 10 ASEAN countries as the co-sponsors for the first time, in order to promote the China-ASEAN economic cooperation to a new level and to listen to the voice of ASEAN commerce and industry community, for which this innovation was positively responded.

“We are glad to see the 10 national chambers of commerce and industry from 10 ASEAN countries serve as the co-sponsors of the 18th CABIS. This will further enhance the relations between CCPIT and ASEAN chambers of commerce and industry, injecting more vitality to CCPIT,” said Dato’ Low Kian Chuan, President of Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with admiration. He added that in the future, China-ASEAN cooperation will be more diverse and ASEAN will seize the opportunities within the framework of RCEP and the Belt and Road Initiative, pushing mutual prosperity to a higher level.

With 18-year fruitful results, CABIS combines efforts to create a brighter future

Now, the CABIS has been successfully held 18 times and has become a significant China-ASEAN platform for opening-up and cooperation. This year’s CABIS also achieved several significant results, which strongly facilitated the upgrade and development of China-ASEAN economic cooperation.

The significance of the Round-table could not be clearer. Since its first meeting, it has promoted a series of key projects to put into construction, showing its great efficacy. In this year’s Round-table, H.E. Mr. Sonexay SIPHANDONE continued having in-depth exchanges with CEOs from Chinese enterprises with certain practical cooperation reached, promoting the bilateral economic cooperation to a new stage. It is safe to say that the Round-table has set an example for mutually beneficial cooperation and development.

To enhance the brand effect of CABIS, the China-ASEAN Business Community’s Cooperation Initiative on Jointly Consulting, Contributing and Sharing Benefits of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor was issued on the Business Leaders Forum. The representatives from 10 ASEAN national chambers of commerce and industry highly support this initiative. In addition, the Launching Ceremony of Promoting the Digital Coordination of Cross-border Supply Chain Along the New International Land-Sea Corridor was held during the forum.

The Symposium on China-ASEAN Commercial Legal Cooperation is themed “New Opportunities for Legal Services under RCEP”, which has received thoughtful ideas. On the Symposium, CCPIT and Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry jointly signed the Memorandum on the Establishment of China-Laos Commercial Legal Cooperation Committee. The Higher People's Court of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guangxi Committee of CCPIT jointly signed the Memorandum on the Establishment of Docking Mechanism Cooperation on Foreign Commercial Legal Dispute Litigation and Mediation. Besides, there was also the Inauguration Ceremony of Commercial Legal Services Offices of Guangxi International Chamber of Commerce in Singapore and Malaysia. The Research on Coordination Cooperation Mechanism of China-ASEAN Commercial Legal Arbitration White Paper was also issued. The huge potential increase in demand for legal services and new opportunities for legal services under RCEP were comprehensively revealed during the symposium.