News Eye On September 16, the People's Daily published an article "Writing a New Chapter and Drawing a New Blueprint", with the full text as follows-

Page 14 of the People's Daily, September 16, 2025.

In the golden autumn of September, in Nanning, Guangxi, hibiscus flowers bloom in the streets and alleys, and the whole city is filled with a festive atmosphere. From September 17 to September 21, the 22nd China-ASEAN Expo (hereinafter referred to as the "ASEAN Expo") and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (hereinafter referred to as the "Summit") will kick off here.

The exhibition is themed "Digital intelligence empowers development, innovation leads the future - using the new opportunities of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone 3.0 version to help build a community with a shared future". The exhibition area is 160,000 square meters, and the main venue of Nanning and Guilin Tourism Exhibition Area are set up. 3,260 companies from 60 countries participate in the exhibition.

Since the first ASEAN Expo and Summit held in 2004, China and ASEAN's economic and trade cooperation has gradually moved from commodity exchanges and trade exchanges to an in-depth development stage of digital interconnection and industrial integration. This year's China Eastern Expo and Summit focus on artificial intelligence and new quality productivity, echoing the trend of global science and technology industry transformation, marking the entry of a new era of "intelligent leadership and innovation-driven" cooperation between the two sides, injecting new impetus into the high-quality development of the regional economy.

Artificial intelligence becomes the cooperation engine

Entering the 10,000 square meters of artificial intelligence hall, about 1,200 cutting-edge products and technologies are unveiled here in the booths of nearly 200 companies and teams such as Huawei, Alibaba Cloud, and iFLYTEK. From consumer-grade smart devices to industrial-grade solutions, it forms a complete innovation chain.

In front of the Lingban Technology booth, visitors will be able to experience the world's first consumer-grade AI AR glasses of about 49 grams. Through optical waveguide technology, this glasses can switch between translation and navigation functions with just one gesture; in front of the Alibaba Cloud booth, the audience can have real-time conversations with the open source model "Tongyi Qianwen"...

ASEAN countries actively participate. Malaysia will showcase the integrated application of green energy and AI, Brunei will launch an AI intelligent medical system, and Thailand will present the results of "Digital Economy 4.0". Data shows that since its launch in 2015, the China-ASEAN Information Port has implemented nearly 20 digital projects in nine ASEAN countries. The negotiations on the 3.0 version of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone have been fully completed, and for the first time, a full-chain cooperation framework covering the "hard connectivity" of digital infrastructure and the "soft connectivity" of rules and standards have been systematically built, laying the institutional foundation for the digital economy.

Trade boom drives investment growth

In the commodity trade exhibition area, in addition to Malaysian Maosan King durian, Thai latex products and other products, Cambodian handmade cultural and creative products will also be exhibited to attract audiences with the charm of culture and craftsmanship.

Behind this excitement is the steady growth of bilateral trade. China has maintained its position as ASEAN's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years, and ASEAN has become China's largest trading partner for five consecutive years. In 2024, China's bilateral trade volume with five ASEAN countries including Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore exceeded 100 billion US dollars, of which the bilateral trade volume with Vietnam and Malaysia has exceeded 200 billion US dollars. From January to July this year, the scale of China's trade with ASEAN reached US$597 billion, an increase of 8.2% year-on-year, accounting for 16.7% of China's total foreign trade in the same period.

The trade boom drives investment growth. As of July this year, China and ASEAN have accumulated more than US$450 billion in two-way investment, and Chinese companies have completed a total of US$480 billion in engineering contracts in ASEAN. The Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway is opened to traffic, the China-Laos Railway has both passenger and cargo, the agglomeration effect of the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone is highlighted, and the Malaysian East Coast Railway is steadily advancing...

New quality productivity expansion cooperation space

At this exhibition, the audience will also see the world's first explosion-proof humanoid robot "Tiankui 1" flexibly rotate the robotic arm to accurately complete the grab and handling operations in a simulated dangerous environment; on the screen of the AI ​​intelligent agricultural monitoring system, crop growth data jumps in real time; the smart cockpit of new energy vehicles will switch from navigation to entertainment through voice interactive demonstrations. The new quality productivity hall was first established at this year's China International Fair, and the innovative achievements are dazzling. During the exhibition, 15 new product debuts were launched one after another, and nearly 70 representative products were unveiled.

In order to release the potential of new quality productivity, this year's China International Fair has provided more than 80 economic and trade activities. The ASEAN-China-Japan-Korea Industrial Chain and Supply Chain Matching Conference attracted more than 2,000 companies, focusing on key industries such as advanced manufacturing, green agriculture and digital technology, and using AI to achieve accurate matching of supply and demand, and feedback cooperation intentions to more than 1,600 companies; the China-ASEAN Minister of Artificial Intelligence Roundtable discussed regional governance and collaborative innovation.

Wei Zhaohui, Secretary-General of the Secretariat of the ASEAN Expo, said that the establishment of the New Quality Productivity Special Hall not only conforms to the development trend of the global science and technology industry, but also accurately matches the construction needs of the 3.0 version of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone. "By concentrating on displaying cutting-edge technologies and innovative achievements, we hope to inject new vitality into the cooperation between the two sides."

Multilateral cooperation enhances the influence of the platform

Looking back at the development, China-ASEAN trade volume in 2003 was only US$78.2 billion, and exceeded US$900 billion in 2024. The ASEAN Expo and Summit have become key platforms for regional win-win results.

This year's China International Fair deepens multilateral cooperation. When you come to the exhibition hall, you will be able to gain an in-depth understanding of Malaysia's green energy, Thailand's digital economy... The products of the 33 countries jointly built the "Belt and Road" are also particularly eye-catching - the colorful embroidery of Pakistani handicrafts and the mellow tea fragrance of Sri Lankan black tea, which complement ASEAN products in the exhibition hall, outlining a vivid picture of the integration of diverse economic and trade.

Digital services are upgraded simultaneously. The AI ​​exhibition and intelligent body launched for the first time at this grand event covers 24 scenarios (17 scenarios in the first episode), which not only realizes the convenient service of "one-code access", but also completes more than 3,500 online pre-matches and nearly 900 offline negotiations and appointments before the opening.

Cultural exchanges are in high spirits. The China-ASEAN Youth Leader Growth Plan focuses on youth needs, and the Artificial Intelligence Hall will launch the "AI Wonderful Night" interactive experience activity.

A relevant official from the Ministry of Commerce of China said that the ASEAN Expo will continue to play the role of a booster for the construction of the free trade zone, promote the signing of the 3.0 version of the upgrade protocol, deepen cooperation in the digital economy, green economy and other fields, and help build a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future. This grand event with digital intelligence as the pen and innovation as the ink is writing a new chapter of mutual benefit and win-win results between China and ASEAN, and drawing a new blueprint for common development.

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