The 8th China-South Asia Expo will be held from July 23 to 28 in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, a Chinese commerce official announced on Tuesday.
The event, jointly hosted by the Ministry of Commerce and the Yunnan provincial government, will be one of the most important events for economic and trade exchanges between China and South Asian nations this year, said Vice Minister of Commerce Li Fei at a press conference in Beijing.
The expo was first held in Kunming in 2013, the year when China put forward the Belt and Road Initiative. Li said that over the past 11 years, China and South Asian countries have deepened practical cooperation in various fields, and maintained a sound momentum of development in economic and trade exchanges, delivering benefits to the people of both sides.
After years of development, the expo has become an important platform for China and South Asian countries to carry out economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges, Li said, adding that the expo has played an important role and made positive contributions in the process of deepening mutually beneficial cooperation between China and South Asian countries.
The official said that friends from all walks of life at home and abroad are welcome to attend the event to build consensus on solidarity, cooperation and common development.
Chinese official data shows that trade volume between China and South Asian countries reached nearly 200 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, twice the amount in 2013. During the seventh China-South Asia Expo held last year, 338 projects with a total investment value of about 56.1 billion U.S. dollars were signed.
