People walk out of the venue of the 18th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Sept 13, 2021. The 18th China-ASEAN Expo closed on Sept 13. Inaugurated in 2004, the annual expo is an important platform for promoting trade and bilateral relations between China and ASEAN. [Photo/Xinhua]
NANNING — The 18th China-ASEAN Expo and the concurrent China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit concluded on Sept 13 in Nanning, the capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
A total of 179 deals worth a record-high combined value of over 300 billion yuan (about $46.59 billion) were signed during the expo. The total value marks an increase of 13.7 percent over the previous edition, showed data released by the expo secretariat at the closing ceremony.
A total of 148 economic and trade promotion activities and 26 high-level forums took place during this year's expo, covering industrial chains, industrial capacity cooperation, customs and health.
With an exhibition area of more than 100,000 square meters, this year's expo set up 5,400 booths for offline exhibitors. Over 1,500 enterprises participated in the in-person exhibitions.
The exhibition area for foreign countries was about 20,000 square meters, up 13.4 percent year-on-year, said the organizer.
The 19th China-ASEAN Expo is preliminarily scheduled for Sept 16 to 19, 2022, with Malaysia as the Country of Honor, said Wang Lei, secretary-general of the expo secretariat.
People visit the 18th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Sept 13, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]
People visit the booth of Iran at the 18th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Sept 13, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]
People try accessories at the booth of Russia at the 18th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Sept 13, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]
An exhibitor (C) shows selfie function of a mobile phone at the 18th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Sept 12, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]
People visit the 18th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Sept 13, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]
People select goods at the 18th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Sept 13, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]
People select accessories at the 18th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Sept 13, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]
A visitor takes photos of robots at the 18th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Sept 13, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]
People visit the 18th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Sept 13, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]
