Special Report: China-ASEAN Summit

    BEIJING, Oct. 31 (Xinhuanet) -- The 3rd China-Asean Expo has just kicked off in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south China.

    Chinese premier Wen Jiabao and heads of the state and government of ten ASEAN member countries all attended the opening ceremony. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao hopes there will be deepened cooperation between China and ASEAN. He said the expo provided a platform for mutually beneficial cooperation. 15 years ago, China and ASEAN established a cooperative relationship. Premier Wen Jiabao said, since then, trade has increased 15 times and investment has also boomed. The building of the Free Trade Area, and some sub-regional cooperation are all promoted.

    The ASEAN president, Philippine President Arroyo expressed ASEAN's vision and sincere desire for a successful expo, and to broaden the China-ASEAN cooperation. Arroyo said the cooperation between China and ASEAN, now not only cover areas of trade and economic cooperation, but also expanded to political, security, development and cooperation on regional issues.

    Host of the ceremony, Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai,said since the expo was first held in 2004, it has witnessed a growth in trade among China and the ASEAN member countries. And this year the expo sees about 30 thousand-business participants.