The 16th China-ASEAN Expo opened Saturday in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, aiming to encourage communication and collaboration between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Focusing on business and investment, the 16th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit also commenced.

Themed Building the Belt and Road, Realizing Our Vision for a Community of Shared Future, the four-day expo will include high-level exchange events based on the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030.

Vice-Premier Han Zheng said during the opening ceremony that this year's expo and summit are in line with the concept of building the Belt and Road together.

"China and ASEAN countries interconnect both geographically and culturally. China attaches great importance to the cooperation with ASEAN.

"The two sides had been hand in hand and making mutual progress ever since they established a strategic partnership 16 years ago," Han said.

According to Yu Jianhua, vice-minister of commerce, China has been ASEAN's largest trade partner for 10 consecutive years and ASEAN this year replaced the United States as China's second-largest trading partner.

In the first half of this year, trade volume between China and ASEAN surged by 4.2 percent year-on-year to $292 billion.

Wang Lei, secretary general of the Secretariat of China-ASEAN Expo, said this year's expo is improving its service for the Belt and Road Initiative.

In addition to inviting Poland as the first European country to attend the expo, the Belt and Road international exhibition area has been expanded, and the Korean product exhibition featuring cosmetics and skin care products has also increased in size.

In addition, high-level forums will highlight the Belt and Road Initiative, and buyers from ASEAN countries, Europe, North America, Latin America, Middle East, South Asia and Africa will be invited.

According to organizers, 2,848 enterprises will attend this year's expo to showcase their products, up 2.4 percent year-on-year.

Exhibitions and activities at the expo are expected to promote China-ASEAN collaboration in trade, investment, the digital economy, science and technology, finance, e-commerce and tourism.