Lao Deputy Prime Minister: Free Trade Zone 3.0 will create more opportunities for Laos

China News Service, Nanning, September 17 (Reporter Huang Yanmei) Salomxay, member of the Political Bureau of the Lao Party Central Committee and Executive Deputy Prime Minister of the Government, said in Nanning, Guangxi on the 17th that the construction of version 3.0 of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area will create more opportunities for Laos and enable Laos to enter the vast Chinese market. Laos will further play its role as a regional bridge for the movement of goods and people between ASEAN and China through the Laos-China Railway.

The 23rd China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit opened in Nanning on the same day. Sharon Sai attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech.

Sharon Sai said that the economic ties between ASEAN and China are constantly expanding. The construction of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0 is an important step for both sides to further promote economic and trade integration, expand trade and investment, and strengthen cooperation in business capacity building. It conforms to the evolving regional and global economic trends.

Sharonsay pointed out that ASEAN and China should continue to strengthen trade and investment cooperation, with particular emphasis on trade modernization, promoting digital economic connections, and promoting sustainable green development, including establishing a regulatory framework to support e-commerce, deepening cooperation in artificial intelligence, and continuing to support ASEAN member states in expanding the export of agricultural products and modern manufacturing products to the Chinese market.

Sharonsay said that ASEAN and China should further strengthen energy cooperation and accelerate the transition to clean energy by promoting joint investment in renewable energy, smart cities and sustainable infrastructure development; continue to support ASEAN in implementing the "ASEAN Energy Cooperation Action Plan" and promote the ASEAN Power Grid Initiative, with a view to transforming these important initiatives into concrete and tangible results.

Sharonsay also pointed out that ASEAN and China should further strengthen food security cooperation and build a resilient production and supply chain between ASEAN and China. This should be achieved through trade facilitation and reducing non-tariff barriers and unnecessary barriers that hinder market access and commercial operations. At the same time, we should strengthen support for the development of small, medium and micro enterprises and promote digital economy and green economic cooperation.