The First China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit were held in Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center on November 3-4, 2004. It was jointly sponsored by China International Trade Promotion Committee, Ministry of Commerce of China and People¡¯s Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. With the theme ¡°To Promote Mutual Benefit and Cooperation and To Seek Common Development¡±, the summit was held in the form of mainly forums which were divided into two types: Senior Official¡¯s Forum and Business and Investment Leaders¡¯ Forum. About 1,100 state leaders, economy and trade authorities and business people from China and ASEAN countries participated in the forums, of which 300 were Chinese entrepreneurs. Among all the enterprises, large famous enterprises in China and foreign countries took up 30% and medium-and-small sized ones, 70%. Wu Yi, Vice Premier of State Council attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech entitled ¡°Strengthening Mutual Benefits and Cooperation and Promoting Common Prosperity¡±. H.E. Mr. Samdech Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, H.E. Mr. Boungnang Vorachith, Premier of the Laos PDR, Lt-General Soe Win, Prime Minister of Myanmar, H.E. Mr. Phinij Jarusombut, Vice Prime Minister of Thailand, H.E. Mr. Pham Gia Khiem, Vice Prime Minister of Viet Nam also made speeches at the summit. On the Senior Official¡¯s Forum held on November 3, ministers from Brunei Darussalam, the Republic of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of Singapore and the Kingdom of Thailand all agreed on formulating relevant economic policies in view of enterprise¡¯s development.

 

On the Business and Investment Leaders¡¯ Forum held on November 4, about 11 experts, officials and entrepreneurs, including , Musa Hitam, president of Malaysia-China Business Council, Dr. Mohamad S. Hidayat, president of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Xu Ningning, president of Beijing ASEAN Business Consultant Center, China, Li Yiixian, director of Singapore Bureau of Enterprise Development£¬Qin Jiaming General Manager of China Railway Engineering Corporation, spoke on the two themes: ¡°Understanding and Mutual Benefist: Foundation Stone of Free Trade¡± and ¡°Grasping Changes, Supporting Innovation¡±. The participants also introduced advanced experience, skills and the latest economic and trade status and trend in their countries, and discussed the prospect of future cooperation between China and the ASEAN countries.

 

 

Jointly sponsored by Legal Daily News Agency, China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat and Guangxi Lawyers Association, China-ASEAN Free Trade Area Legal Service Seminar was held in Nanning International Convention & Exhibition Center on November 5, 2004. This was the first time nationwide that the Expo involved law services as an important special theme in significant international business activities. Wei Fuxi, Vice Director-general of Judical Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Zhang Shuguo, Perennial counselor-at-law of China-ASEAN Exposition presided over the seminar. Cai Jiangsheng, Director General of Guangxi Judicial Department, Yang Jingkai, Vice Vecretary-general of China-ASEAN Exposition Secretariat, Lei Xiaolu, chief editor of Legal Daily and Jin Shan, Vice President of National Lawyer Association delivered speeches at the seminar. Keynote speakers were Professor Zhang Liying, Vice Dean of International Laws College, China University of Political Science and Laws, Jennifer Smith, International Bridges Foundation to Justice, Ge Huangbin, Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Kang Yonghua, dirctor of Guangzhou representative office of Kang Yonghua Law Firm, US, Liu Guiming, editor-in-chief of Chinese Lawyers Journal, Gong Hongliu, research fellow in Law Center in Georgetown University, US. More than 100 participants from National lawyer¡¯s circle attended the seminar. Experts exchanged opinions and discussed a wide range of topics, such as  ¡°Integration of Regional Economy and Opening-up of Legal Service¡±, ¡°Free Trade Area and Law Construction¡±, ¡°Legal System in the Frame of Free Trade Area¡±, ¡°Obstacles in Chinese Legal Service¡± and ¡°Settlement System to Economy and Trade Disputes in the Frame of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area¡±. China-ASEAN Free Trade Area Legal Service Seminar has been approved by China-ASEAN Organizing Committee as part of the Exposition serial activities and the seminar will be held annually.

 

 

Jointly sponsored by Guangxi Tourism Bureau and China Tourism News Agency, the first China-ASEAN International Tourism Cooperation Forum was held in Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center from Oct.28 to 29, 2004. Over 20 well-known tourism experts and scholars from China and ASEAN countries attended the forum and exchanged views on China-ASEAN/Guangxi-ASEAN tourism cooperation.

 

With the accelerating construction of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA), and the development of the annually-held CAEXPO, Guangxi has become the superb platform for mutually-beneficial cooperation within CAFTA. Exterior factors have brought unprecedented opportunities and a wider international scope to Guangxi tourism industry and made it the most potential and earliest rewarded industry in realizing China-ASEAN economy bridging. Thus it has become an issue of great concern among Guangxi officials and people of insight that we should make the best of the opportunities of CAEXPO to speed up the bridging with ASEAN, turn Guangxi into a region with advanced tourism, set Guangxi-ASEAN tourism patterns, and transform Guangxi into an important tour hinge between China and south-east Asia. Officials of Guangxi organized the forum before the opening of CA-Expo with the purpose of establishing a better tourism cooperation platform between China and ASEAN, promoting mutual development and prosperity, further displaying Guangxi¡¯s geographical advantages and influence in CAFTA and publicizing the abundant tour resources and image of Guangxi.

 

The themes of the forum include: to promote tourism cooperation between China/Guangxi and ASEAN through mutual exchanges; to step up the economic development of China/Guangxi and ASEAN through tourism cooperation, to set a tourism cooperation platform for China and ASEAN, to provide tour information and decision-making advice to government departments, enterprises and people from all walks of life.

 

The contents of the forum cover tourism cooperation between China/Guangxi and ASEAN, which includes cooperation in border traveling, transportation and information sharing, cooperation between travel agencies and business companies, cooperation in facilitation, crisis management, travel promotion and human resources.