China trade fair attracts businesses from ASEAN (Xinhua) Updated: 2004-06-07 11:08
The annual China Kunming trade fair opened on June 6 in this capital of
Southwest China's Yunnan Province, with 1,300 businesses from 18 countries and
regions attending.
The 11-year old trade fair, held annually in Kunming of Yunnan, was renamed
as China Kunming Import and Export Commodities Fair in this year. Its previous
name was China Kunming Export Commodities Fair. Yunnan is a province bordering
Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar, three countries from the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The five-day fair is under regional spotlight as a China-ASEAN free trade
area is moving forward as economic and trade cooperation between the two sides
are fast expanding.
The ASEAN hall is a major focus of the fair. All 10 member countries of the
ASEAN set up a total of 237 display stands at the fair. Vietnam alone has 100
stands for its enterprises, the largest ever in its history of attendance to the
fair, organizers said.
The fair for the first time set up a South Asia hall for enterprises from
South Asian countries, according to organizers.
Over 4,000 businessmen from ASEAN and South Asian countries are attending the
fair, according to the calculation of the organizing committee.
The fair was cosponsored by the governments of Chongqing Municipality,
provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,
the Tibet Autonomous Region and Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan.
Laotian Vice-Prime Minister Boua Sone and Li Zhaozhuo, vice-chairman of
National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
attended the opening ceremony on June 6.
