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The 7th China-ASEAN Expo was held from 20th to 24th of October, 2010 in Nanning, the capital city of Guangxi Province in southern-west China.
Featuring the theme of "Free trade area and new opportunities" this year, the China-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Expo focuses on regional economic and trade cooperation and provides new opportunities for the business communities from all over the world.
Initiated by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the 7th China-ASEAN (10+1) Leaders' summit in 2003, Nanning was chosen as the host city of the China-ASEAN Expo since the year 2004 onwards to promote the establishment of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA).
CAFTA is the first Free Trade Area established between China and the member states of ASEAN. Since the signing of the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between China and ASEAN in 2002, particularly since the 1st CAEXPO was held, the CAFTA construction has gained year-on-year growth.
In November 2004, both sides concluded the CAFTA Agreement on Trade in Goods and Agreement on Dispute Settlement Mechanism, which came into effect in July, 2005, reducing tariff rates upon 7,000 varieties of commodities. Since January 1,2010, China has implemented zero tariffs upon over 90% of ASEAN commodities, with the average tariff rate down from 9.8% to 0.1%, and the six original ASEAN countries, including Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, adopted similar preferential policies for China, cutting down their average tariff from 12.8% to 0.6%. By 2015, the policy is expected to extend to the four newer ASEAN members. (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam)
With the CAFTA Agreement on Trade in Services concluded in January 2007, both sides have committed to open up over 60 service sectors to each other.
The CAFTA Investment Agreement was signed in August 2009, enabling investors from China and ASEAN to enjoy fair and equitable treatment to each other.
The CAFTA has been due established on January 1, 2010. It boosts with a population of 1.9 billion people, a total GDP of USD 6 trillion and a total trade volume of USD 4.5 trillion, which is the largest Free Trade Area among the developing countries.
About Nanning city
Nanning is located in the southern part of Guangxi, 160 km from the border with Vietnam. The city enjoys a history of over 1680 years. There are 6.8351 million people living in this city, which covers a total area of 22,112 sq km (urban area: 1,999 sq km). It is known as the "Green City" because of its high coverage of trees and vegetation.
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Venue of CAEXPO, "10+1>11" represents cosponsorship by China and the 10 ASEAN countries
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From left to right: Mr. Franklin Lau - CEO of Reanda International, Mr. Dong Xingang - Deputy Secretary General of CICPA, Ms. Bai Xiaohong - Officer of CICPA attending the activities of CAEXPO
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Delegates from the China top-tier accounting firms taken photos with senior officials of CICPA during CAEXPO
