ACC Booth Set Up at the 12th CAEXPO

On 18-21 September 2015, ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) set up an independent information booth during the 12th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It was the third consecutive year ACC had consistently and actively participated in booths set up, aiming at outreaching ACC to the Chinese and ASEAN general public as well as interested participants and guests of the 12th CAEXPO from all walks of life.  

With good collaboration with the CAEXPO Secretariat, ACC booth was able to be located in the hub pavilion of the “Cities of Charm”, next to the ASEAN Secretariat booth and close to all the booths of ASEAN countries. In its 34-square-metre booth space, ACC displayed lighted information boxes presenting ACC’s background, history, organizational structure, and the recent activities it had conducted to promote ASEAN-China cooperation in trade, investment, education, culture, tourism, information, public relations and media, against the backdrop of the development in ASEAN-China relations. The magazine racks were placed for free distribution of ACC promotional information sheets and other ACC printing materials such as Newsletters and ASEAN Tourism Maps, etc. The booth TV screened the promotional video footages of ACC, the documentaries on Taste and Discovery Southeast Asia co-produced by CCTV and ACC, as well as the video on China-ASEAN Marine Product Exchange in a cyclic manner. ACC made use of this platform to showcase its regular contributions of its articles to the media partners by distributing the publications of China-ASEAN Panorama and China Report.

ACC’s colourful and well-decorated booth proved popular among many information booths whereby each day hundreds of visitors enjoyed their visits and took photos with. Visitors to ACC booth were also interested to inquire more from the officials of Information and Public Relations Division (IPRD) of ACC about the history of ACC, ACC’s roles in matching business opportunities between ASEAN Member States and China, as well as how to keep close communication with and follow the work of ACC. The visitors were encouraged to play games and make acquaintance with ACC through its Microblog. ACC Microblog proved to be an effective and innovative way for ACC to interact with its old and new fans.

H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of ACC, H.E. Mr. Theerakun Niyom, the Thai Ambassador to China, Mr. Xu Ningning, Executive President of China-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) and Ms. Patchanee Kithavorn, the Thai Consul-General in Nanning, were among the VIP guests who visited ACC booth. China Central Television crew made a shot and Nanning TV interviewed Ms. Lada Phumas, IPRD Director, at the booth. Director Lada introduced the roles of ACC to promote ASEAN-China functional cooperation in relevant areas. She particularly highlighted ACC’s projects and activities to promote two-way investment between ASEAN and China, as well as ACC’s recent endeavours to enhance closer cooperation with media, which had played a significant role in raising awareness on ASEAN-China relations, by organizing the two “Reporting Trips” in support of the leaders’ initiatives such as the building of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, ASEAN Community, and ASEAN-China connectivity.

ACC booth received about 5,000 visitors and provided hundreds of inquiries. Almost 10,000 pieces of information and 2,000 souvenirs were distributed during the exhibition, enabling the general public learn more about ACC. ACC created a special blog about its booth on ACC Microblog which received a hundred rewarding comments and followers. More than 50,000 people noted and registered their interest in the activity ACC initiated via its Microblog during the 4-day booth set up at the CAEXPO. 

CAEXPO’s pavilion of “Cities of Charm” was another meaningful platform for ACC to boost friendly contact and communication with the general public, inform about ACC’s work and its vision to become a promoter of good-neighborliness and mutual trust, a facilitator of functional cooperation and a spreader of friendship, contributing to the development of ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership. The pavilion comprised the booths from various cities of all 10 ASEAN Member States, featuring under the theme of the 12th CAEXPO, which was “Building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Creating a New Blueprint for Maritime Cooperation”, having Thailand as the Country of Honour and the Republic of Korea as the Special Guest Country.