NANNING — The 17th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit kicked off on Nov 27 in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Themed "Building the Belt and Road, Strengthening digital economy cooperation," this year's expo aims to deepen cooperation in trade, digital economy, science and technology, health, and other fields to foster a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

With a planned exhibition area of 104,000 square meters, the expo has set up 5,400 booths in the venue. In addition, more than 1,500 enterprises from home and abroad will participate virtually in the four-day event, according to the organizers.

The expo will also host 11 high-level forums and more than 160 economic and trade promotion activities.

Initiated in 2004, the annual expo is an important platform for promoting trade and bilateral relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).