Chinese investment in ASEAN bloc more diverse

New deals signed during the 10th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning suggest that Chinese companies are diversifying their investment portfolio in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Outbound investment to the ASEAN expanded from the traditional areas of mining exploration and manufacturing to include green technology, traditional Chinese medicine and tourism, said Zheng Junjian, secretary-general of the 10th China-ASEAN Expo. Zheng made his remarks at a news conference on Sept 6 to mark the end of the event.

The volume of trade agreements made during the four-day event also rose compared with last year, Zheng said, without disclosing the amount.

A majority of contracts signed by Chinese exporters were related to power equipment, new-energy vehicles and freight automobiles, Zheng said.

One Chinese power equipment maker has signed deals with purchasers from Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand.

ASEAN economies also signed a remarkable number of agreements with Chinese counterparts on coffee, fruit and vegetable products.

Bilateral trade also enjoyed rapid growth in the burgeoning services sector, with soaring demands being addressed on the financial and outsourcing fronts, he said.

About 42 percent of the booths at the expo were rented by foreign exhibitors, a record-high presence of international businesses in a major domestic trade show.

The four-day expo, which ran at the same time as the 10th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, provided a series of trade-matching events to provide customized matches, drawing on the members of 120 purchasing and investment delegations from China and abroad.

The summit touched upon the financial cooperation between China and ASEAN. Both identified the importance of strengthening the regional financial security network by coordinating financial policies on the national level.

A China-ASEAN Technology Transfer Center was also unveiled on the sidelines of the expo, which laid a new cornerstone for both sides to embark on substantial technological innovation and collaboration.

Lee Chian-siong, director of the community affairs development at the ASEAN Secretariat, said the "diamond decade" proposed by Premier Li Keqiang served as an exciting and significant dimension to ASEAN's community-building efforts.

Such cooperation not only provides pragmatic benefits, it also draws investment from all over the world, he said.

Next year's expo will take place on Sept 19 to 22 in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.