The 6th China-ASEAN Expo opens Tuesday

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The 6th China-ASEAN Expo opens Tuesday in Nanning, capital of Southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Preparations for the five-day event are complete, and the China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone will be set up in January as scheduled.

4,000 booths fill the expo venue, 20 percent more than last year.

More than 24-hundred companies have registered, and some countries like the US and India are sending purchasing groups.

This year's five-day fair runs a day longer than usual. This is to maximize regional trade cooperation during difficult times. Special forums on agriculture and financial service have also been added.

The China-ASEAN Expo is co-sponsored by China and the 10 ASEAN countries as well as the ASEAN Secretariat.

This will be the sixth expo since 2004. The theme for the first expo was the China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone. In 2007, it adopted the scheme of theme country, under which one or two theme countries launch promotion activities.

The fairs have welcomed 29 heads of state or government and more than 800 VIPs at or above ministerial level.

Cumulative trading volume is just over 6-and-a-half billion US dollars. The expos have held more than 100 high-level forums, boosting exchange and cooperation in various sectors.