Asian commodity expo opens in China's southwestern gateway province

A Sri Lankan exhibitor introduces Sri Lankan tea to a visitor on The South and Southeast Asia Commodity Expo and Investment Fair (SSACEIF) in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

The South and Southeast Asia Commodity Expo and Investment Fair (SSACEIF) opened Wednesday in southwest China's Yunnan Province, attracting 3,348 enterprises from home and abroad.

The expo in Kunming, capital of Yunan, China's major gateway to Southeast Asia and South Asia, has highlighted China's closer ties with the region as it pushes for the Belt and Road Initiative.

With six major exhibition areas, 17 pavilions and 7,500 standard booths, the exposition features exhibitors from 74 countries, regions and international organizations. Nearly half of them are overseas companies.

The expo mainly displays jewelry, carpets and spices from South Asian countries, as well as beverages, snacks and fruits from Southeast Asia, according to the Executive Committee of the SSACEIF.

According to Kunming customs, Yunnan's trade with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) increased 13.1 percent year on year to reach 44.2 billion yuan (6.4 bln U.S. dollars) in the first five months of this year. Its trade with South Asian nations surged 75.4 percent to total 1.5 billion yuan in the same period.

Sri Lanka is the theme country of this year's SSACEIF, and the main guest country is Cambodia. Contracts to be inked during the SSACEIF are estimated to total over 600 billion yuan (about 86.7 billion U.S. dollars).

The 2nd China-South Asia Cooperation Forum, the 14th China-South Asia Business Forum and the 7th China-South Asia Southeast Asia Think Tank Forum will also be held during the seven-day event.