NANNING — The 18th China-ASEAN Expo will take place both online and offline in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, in September, the organizer said on April 7. 

This year marks the 30th anniversary of dialogue relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This year's expo will help expand the platform functions of the expo. It will also further serve the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

The expo will have an exhibition area of 124,000 square meters and hold exchange activities in economy and trade, science and technology, and the digital economy and health, said Wang Lei, secretary-general of the China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat.

In 2020, trade between China and the ASEAN reached $684.6 billion, bucking the trend to post a year-on-year increase of nearly 6.7 percent. The ASEAN remained China's largest trading partner, demonstrating the massive potential and strong resilience of China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation, said Wei Yan, an official with the Ministry of Commerce.

Yang Zhuo, another commerce ministry official, advised to focus on development opportunities of the RCEP and expand and deepen cooperation in fields including health, new business models, and technological innovation.

Total two-way investment between China and ASEAN reached $22.31 billion in 2020, according to Yang.