NANNING, May 10 (Xinhua) -- China's southwestern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where the Sino-ASEAN Expo is held each year, has donated 250,000 U.S. dollars to Myanmar for disaster relief, said an official with the Sino-ASEAN Expo Secretariat on Saturday.

    The money has been given to the Chinese embassy to Myanmar, according to the official.

    "We believe that under the leadership of the Myanmar government and with the assistance of international communities, the hard-working and brave Myanmar people will tide over the temporary difficulty caused by the catastrophe, resume normal work and life and rebuild their homes soon," said Guo Shengkun, Party secretary of Guangxi, in a letter to Myanmar embassy to China.

    Strong tropical storm Nargis hit land in the Irrawaddy Delta region on May 2. According to Myanmar's state media, 23,335 people died, 37,019 are missing and tens of thousands are homeless.

    China's central government has donated 5.3 million U.S. dollars worth of aid in cash and materials to Myanmar.

    Nanning, capital of Guangxi, is the permanent venue of the Sino-ASEAN Expo, which is an annual gathering of political and business leaders as well as experts to discuss major issues concerning the development of China and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

    The ASEAN regional bloc groups Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.