Beijing (VNA) – Vietnam is stepping up trade and investment promotion at the 23rd China–ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO), maintaining a large-scale presence to showcase its competitive products, expand market access and strengthen economic and business links with China and other ASEAN countries.

According to the CAEXPO Secretariat, Vietnam will once again lease an entire exhibition area of about 3,000sq.m, featuring 170 booths, making it one of the ASEAN countries with the largest exhibition spaces at this year’s event. Nearly 100 Vietnamese businesses have confirmed their participation, including major brands such as Trung Nguyen Group, TH Group, Saigon Coffee and Biti’s.

The exhibits will focus on Vietnam’s key export products, including food, beverages, wooden furniture, handicrafts and consumer goods.

Maintaining a large exhibition space at CAEXPO reflects Vietnam’s efforts to use the platform to promote products, expand markets and strengthen connections with Chinese partners. The expo also provides an important channel for Vietnamese businesses to reach Chinese consumers and importers, towards promoting exports and business cooperation.

Notably, Vietnamese firms’ participation this year will go beyond showcasing and selling traditional products. Under CAEXPO’s new organisational format, Vietnam will join a newly established area highlighting demand from ASEAN countries, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI), smart cities, industrial park development, culture and tourism.

The new format marks a gradual shift in trade promotion from introducing products towards connecting specific demands and seeking opportunities for investment, technology and sectoral cooperation. It is expected to create more chances for businesses from both countries to engage directly, identify concrete needs and explore suitable cooperation projects.

At the 23rd CAEXPO, scheduled for September 17-21, An Giang province has been selected as the “Charming city”, a programme designed to showcase the image, potential and strengths of ASEAN localities to international businesses and investors. The Mekong Delta locality is expected to introduce its signature agro-forestry products while promoting its industrial development plans, industrial park planning, investment attraction policies and tourism resources.

Meanwhile, the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) will organise delegations of domestic buyers, businesses and industrial parks to attend the expo. Business-matching activities will focus on areas where China has strengths and Vietnam seeks cooperation, including smart manufacturing, smart logistics, and urban management.

Held annually in Nanning, Guangxi, CAEXPO is an important platform for promoting economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN countries.

Through the expo, Vietnam-China economic cooperation is gradually expanding beyond goods trade into higher-value-added areas, while strengthening links in supply chains, production chains, and investment. This is expected to generate fresh momentum for bilateral economic and trade ties in the coming time./.