On September 10, 2021, the 18th China-ASEAN Expo will kick off as scheduled. Businessmen gather here every year for infinite business opportunities. This year's CAEXPO plans to introduce a new pattern with retail chain stores joining the Expo. The exhibition activity "Easy Joy Festival" will be held, and all retail stores at Sinopec's gas stations across the country will participate in the activity. By unblocking the international circulation, serving and integrating into the international and domestic dual circulation, CAEXPO will launch a new pattern to serve the new development paradigm.

　　New development paradigm means new development opportunities. After 18 years of development, the China-ASEAN Expo is striving forward.

　　Great Potential for Smooth Domestic Circulation

　　2020 is deemed to be extraordinary and worth remembering. On November 25, 2020, the fifth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee proposed to accelerate the construction of a new development paradigm allowing domestic and international markets to boost each other with the domestic market as the mainstay. The 17th China-ASEAN Expo, which concluded on November 30, 2020, painted a beautiful touch for the "new development paradigm".

　　The 17th CAEXPO has achieved much progress in economic and trade results despite adversity. The total number of physical exhibition booths used reached 5,400. The exposure of On-line CAEXPO on the Internet exceeded 1 billion, and 84 purchasing delegations at home and abroad participated in the Expo either online or offline. 86 international and domestic investment cooperation projects were signed, with a total investment of 263.87 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 43.6%, which also marked the highest increase in the total investment of signed projects since the first China-ASEAN Expo in 2004.

　　Moreover, in last year's CAEXPO, exhibition sections for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Enterprises Investing in Guangxi, Beibu Gulf International Gateway Port, and public epidemic prevention and health were set up for the first time, the scale of sections for the new international land-sea corridor and Guangxi Pilot Free Trade Zone was expanded. The financial exhibition section is optimized centering on financial opening-up gateway to add impetus to serving the new development paradigm of domestic and international dual circulation.

　　The Chinese parasol is planted and has attracted the coming of golden phoenix. With the increasing attractiveness of the CAEXPO platform, leading enterprises in Fortune 500 and China 500 such as China Energy Construction, State Power Investment Corporation, China Resources, Zhengbang Group, Haid Group and East Hope, etc., have led the way in high-tech industries through the platform of CAEXPO.

　　Strengthening inter-provincial cooperation is an important measure for the China-ASEAN Expo to unblock the domestic circulation and to serve and integrate into the domestic and international dual circulation. Centering on the construction of new international land-sea trade corridor, special exhibition section has been set up in the previous two CAEXPOs. Provinces and cities along the Corridor have actively participated in it, a multimodal transport alliance for the corridor has been established, a memorandum of cooperation has been reached, and several agreements including the China-ASEAN Supply Chain Management Platform for Agricultural Products have been signed, which greatly promoted trade cooperation between ASEAN and western provinces/cities in China.

　　Fruitful contracts signing and constantly refreshed records have shown the world that though in the face of the pandemic, under the new development paradigm of dual circulation, the domestic and international markets are expanding cooperation via the platform of CAEXPO, and are gaining a lot despite of the adverse trend.

　　The voice of the exhibitors is the greatest recognition of the construction of CAEXO platform. Liu Zhongli, an exhibitor of the Lao Pavilion who has participated in the China-ASEAN Expo for 10 consecutive years, said that from CAEXPO, he deeply felt China's determination to expand its opening up and the confidence of China-ASEAN cooperation for a win-win situation. Faced with the epidemic in 2020, Mr. Chen, a businessman from Guizhou who managed to participate in the 17th CAEXPO despite of all difficulties, said that he saw the perfect presentation of the China-ASEAN Expo in serving the domestic and international dual circulation. The business opportunities in both domestic and international markets have been infinitely superimposed. And his trip to CAEXPO was really worth it.

　　Serving Domestic and International Dual Circulation

　　In 2021, although recovery of the world economy is still sluggish, China has not stopped its pace in opening up to the outside world. CAEXPO will also unblock the domestic circulation through innovative measures, serving the new development paradigm of domestic and international dual circulation, and bringing new light to regional cooperation.

　　Planning a new pattern for retail chain stores joining the Expo will be one of the highlights of the 18th CAEXPO. During the China-ASEAN Expo, the "Easy Joy Festival"will be held by Sinopec concurrently, all retail stores at Sinopec's gas stations across the country will participate in the exhibition, with an exhibiting area of 5,000 square meters. The "Easy Joy Festival" exhibition will innovate the mode of CAEXPO to serve the new development paradigm, and will bring customers refreshing feelings and new harvests.

　　In addition, the 18th CAEXPO will also host the China-ASEAN Civil Aviation Cooperation Forum and China Airport Economy Forum, focusing on promoting the Nanning Airport Economic Demonstration Zone, to advance the building of an air cargo hub and to accelerate the construction of Nanning Airport Economic Demonstration Zone. Inter-provincial cooperation will also be strengthened, provinces and cities including Fujian and Guiyang will hold promotion conferences and project signing activities during CAEXPO to help improve the economic and trade effects and to serve the new development paradigm of domestic and international dual circulation.

　　Serving the "Belt and Road" and RCEP, the 18th China-ASEAN Expo will continue to exert its strength. The International Pavilion for "Belt and Road" this year has a total exhibition area of about 9,000 square meters, a year-on-year increase of 28.6%. Participating institutions and enterprises are from more than 20 countries including Pakistan, Poland, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, France, and Spain.

　　The national exhibition section for RCEP countries will also be set up for the first time as a warming-up to RCEP's entry into force. Trade promotion agencies and well-known enterprises including Japan External Trade Organization, Mitsubishi from Japan, and ES International Co., Ltd. from Korea have confirmed their participation. Besides, Japan plans to organize a delegation of 50 people to participate in the Expo and the activity of "Japanese Enterprises' Journey to Guangxi"will be held. During CAEXPO, a memorandum of friendship and cooperation will be signed with the China Headquarters of Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

　　Serving and integrating into the domestic and international dual circulation is just like the twin engines driving China-ASEAN Expo forward. The CAEXPO platform, which unblocks the domestic circulation, serves and integrates into the new development paradigm of domestic and international dual circulation, will surely expand new markets and bring new opportunities for guests across the globe, and inject endless positive energy into regional economic cooperation.