广播听力： CAEXPO to Highlight Port Cooperation

The annual China-ASEAN Expo will be held late next month in Nanning, capital of southwest Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
During the four-day Expo, a series of events including China-ASEAN Business & Investment Summit will be held to facilitate trade between the two sides. More than 1,000 enterprises from ASEAN countries will take part in the expo, accounting for one third of total exhibitors. They are mainly from sectors of engineering machinery, food processing, and power generation. In addition, Malaysia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia will run their separate halls to promote their own brands.

Ju Chengzhi, International Cooperation Director with Ministry of Communications, said at a press conference on Friday that his ministry will co-host a forum on port cooperation, which he believed there is a great room for improvement.

"The focus of port cooperation includes policies on port development planning and construction, as well as logistic services, information technology and international maritime transportation."

He says the preparation for the forum is underway. Entrepreneurs from top-100 port enterprises and officials from port cities in the region have been invited to attend the forum.

Initiated by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, the Expo has become an annual event since 2004 for the business communities to tap the other's market. So far, China and the ASEAN are the 4th biggest trading partner of the other, and bilateral trade is expected to surpass 200 billion US dollars by the year's end.