Guangxi International Sister Cities Shine at 23rd CAEXPO, New Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Zone a Highlight

The 23rd China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO), together with the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, opened in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on September 17. As a signature event of CAEXPO, the “Guangxi International Sister Cities at CAEXPO” program has been held for five consecutive years. This year's edition draws participation from 31 international sister cities, friendly exchange cities and friendly organizations from 15 countries across four continents.

Visitors tour the exhibition area of the“Guangxi International Sister Cities at CAEXPO”.

For the first time, the program set up a Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Zone and a council member zone of the Guangxi People's  Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, showcasing Guangxi's achievements in opening-up and practical cooperation through its international sister-city network. Seventeen sister cities took part, including those from ASEAN member states Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as from the Republic of Korea, France, Poland, Spain and Uzbekistan, presenting their urban profiles and specialty products.Specialty products such as Spanish Iberian ham, Uzbek handicrafts, French lavender series, Vietnamese shrimp paste stir-fried pork, and Thai Golden Pillow freeze-dried durian have captured the audience's attention.

Visitors tour the exhibition area of the“Guangxi International Sister Cities at CAEXPO”.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the first Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Leaders' Meeting, and the newly established Lancang-Mekong zone stands out as a highlight of the event. It spotlights Guangxi's sub-national cooperation with Lancang-Mekong countries in agriculture and forestry, youth exchanges, people-to-people connectivity and interlinkage, reflecting the Guangxi's efforts to boost cross-border exchanges and coordinated development along the Lancang-Mekong river basin.

During the expo, organizers will arrange delegations to tour the fair and visit local commercial centers, enterprises and universities in Guangxi, tailored to each sister city's development needs, so as to facilitate one-on-one matchmaking and deepen cooperation across sectors.

Visitors tour the exhibition area of the“Guangxi International Sister Cities at CAEXPO”.

Since 2004, Guangxi has leveraged the CAEXPO platform to invite international sister cities to participate, formalizing the mechanism in 2022 into a regular program that combines exhibition, promotion and matchmaking, promoting exchanges with other countries in economy, trade, vocational education, agriculture, culture, and tourism. To date, Guangxi has forged 134 sister-cityties with 41 countries, including 62 with ASEAN members—the highest number among all Chinese regions.