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MANILA - Amid tensions with Beijing, Manila next year will host the annual trade expo between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
With the theme "Regional Cooperation and Development: New Opportunities, New Driving Forces and New Stage," the 10th China-Asean Expo will be held on September 20-24, 2013, marking the 10th anniversary of Asean-China strategic partnership.
The annual expo provides a platform for showcasing investment opportunities both in China and in Asean member-economies. The forum contributes to the strengthening of the Asean-China Free Trade Area.
Manila's hosting next year comes amid brewing tensions with Beijing over the Panatag Shoal at the West Philippine Sea, which both countries are claiming.
The handover of the hosting of the annual expo was announced at the close of the 9th China-Asean Expo in Nanning, China.
Xi Jinping, vice president of the 9th China-Asean Expo and 9th Asean Business and Investment Summit said the expo yielded a total of US$1.88 billion trade deals, an increase of 3.9 percent year-on-year.
At least 52,000 exhibitors and visitors took part in the recently concluded Nanning expo, which featured 2,280 enterprises with 4,600 booths.
Asean said the region's trade with China has increased eight-fold from $3.23 billion in 2000 to $28.4 billion last year.
China’s foreign direct investments in Asean have grown ten-fold from $0.62 billion in 2005 to US$5.91 billion in 2011.
Xi said China was Asean's largest trading partner last year, overtaking the EU and Japan since 2009. China in turn was Asean's second biggest market in the last two years.
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