Aiming to form closer economic cooperation, the brand new forum attracted more than 600 distinguished guests from China and all 11 ASEAN member countries, including senior officials and business leaders.

Deputy secretary of the CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee Li Xiuling, ASEAN-China Center secretary-general Yang Xiuping, and vice president of Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LNCCI) attended the opening ceremony on June 13 and delivered speeches.

Li Xiuling said that China-Southeast Asia Business Forum serve for the buildup of the Belt and Road Initiative. And the forum could come into because it received positive responses from ASEAN countries.

Based on Yunnan’s geographical convenience, the forum will help deepen China-ASEAN cooperation and act as a platform for trade, investment, business dialogue and cultural exchange in the region, Li added.

Yang Xiuping commented that the China-ASEAN ties have entered a new and promising stage at present, citing as evidences the formation of the ASEAN community, the implementation of the upgraded China-ASEAN free trade area, and the launch of Lancang-Mekong Cooperation mechanism.

Yang said that with the launch of the China-Lao railway and other key projects in the region, the ASEAN has become a key partner for China to carry out the B&R Initiative.

Production capacity cooperation between China and Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand is now in full swing, she added.

Laos serve as the rotating presidency of the forum this year, and the vice president of LNCCI has high expectations for China-Laos cooperation.

"Laos should strengthen cooperation with China, especially in the buildup of special economic zones, and the Mahan-Boten industrial park on the China-Laos border has preferential policies for investors," said the vice president.

He added that Laos lies at the heart of the GMS, and his countries can be a gateway for cargo flow because it borders all GMS member states.

Gao Shuxun, Member of Yunnan Government Party Committee, presided over the opening, while Long Guoqiang, deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, made a keynote speech.

On the following day, a joint declaration of the China-Southeast Asia Business Forum was released. 

The forum is hosted by the Yunnan Provincial People’s Government and ASEAN-China Center, and it is organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Yunnan Sub-Council and other related departments. 

Trans-editing by Eric Wang