Report on the Second China-ASEAN Expo: 18-21 October 2005, Nanning, Guangxi, China

This report begins with a brief historical sketch of eventsleading up to the conclusion of the Framework Agreement on ComprehensiveEconomic Cooperation between ASEAN and CHINA in 2002 and themaximum utilization of their collective efforts to implementthe establishment of CHINA–ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA)for China and ASEAN Six by 2010, and for China and ASEAN asa whole by 2015. The Second CAFTA Expo at Nanning on 18–21October 2005 provided yet another yardstick to assess the progressachieved as well as a platform from which to launch future practicalmeasures to accelerate the realization of their joint endeavorsto set up a super regional Free Trade Area of 1.85 billion ASEANand Chinese consumers, and an ideal investment area coveringthe entire mainland China and all ASEAN countries. The SecondNanning Expo 2005, like its predecessor the year before, servedas an effective tool: (1) to place goods and services availablewithin the CHINA–ASEAN Greater Region on display at theexhibition pavilions; (2) to provide facilities and opportunitiesfor the Business and Investment Summit meetings for traders,investors and members of the ASEAN Chamber of Commerce and theirChinese counterparts to gather together for closer consultationon the cultivation of their joint projects; and (3) to organizethe CHINA–ASEAN Legal Affairs Forum for brainstormingsessions to work out practical ways and means to implement theircombined plan of actions, notably to devise a functioning legalmachinery to ensure further inter-regional economic integration.It is gratifying, at the end of the day, to be able to witnessat close range the rebirth and phenomenal natural growth ofa new breed of Chinese and ASEAN transnational legal scholarsand practitioners actively at work. The heritage of ASEAN–Chineselegal scholarship is apparent and distinctive.