Held from September 17 to 21 in Nanning, Guangxi, the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo showcased a vast exhibition area of approximately 170,000 square meters, drawing in over 3,400 enterprises. As the event unfolded, several keywords repeatedly surfaced, reflecting the evolving dynamics of regional cooperation and innovation.

The term "integration" captured a distinct development trajectory centered on a model combining research and development from Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou with assembly in Guangxi and application within ASEAN markets. In the artificial intelligence pavilion, Runjian Co., Ltd. displayed its independently developed intelligent operation and maintenance platform for photovoltaic power stations, featuring real-time operational data from nearly 3,000 distributed solar installations across Malaysia. The company reports managing over 500 digital projects in ASEAN nations, with Vice President Hu Yongle noting their push to establish a secure "data free trade zone" by leveraging Guangxi's 15 fiber-optic connections to Southeast Asia. He emphasized that version 3.0 of the free trade zone would further enhance China's cost advantages in digital services, allowing ASEAN countries to benefit from the region's digital economy growth. Since last year, Guangxi has promoted this unique "northern R&D, Guangxi assembly, ASEAN application" approach, attracting industry leaders like iFlytek and Qi-Anxin to establish operations. By tapping into advanced domestic technology resources, these companies are developing practical AI solutions tailored to the substantial, real-world demands of China-ASEAN collaboration.

"Demand" emerged as another pivotal theme, highlighted by a newly established exhibition zone dedicated to ASEAN countries' needs, presenting 89 specific collaboration opportunities across sectors such as transportation, smart logistics, urban management, and industrial park development. Visitors were seen taking notes and capturing details of these proposals. Complementing this exhibition, a China-ASEAN AI supply-demand matchmaking event brought together over 90 buyers from nine countries including Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia, with more than 80 Chinese AI enterprises for face-to-face discussions. Participants arrived with specific objectives; for instance, the Malaysian Chinese Chamber of Commerce's president, Wu Yiping, attended with his delegation for the third consecutive year, seeking long-term partnerships in industrial supply chains, technology applications, and investments. This shift from simple product exporting to precise demand matching underscores the deepening integration of industries between China and ASEAN. Official data reveals that China's intermediate goods exports to ASEAN reached 2.86 trillion yuan in the first half of this year, marking a 24.5 percent year-on-year increase. Lei Xiaohua, deputy director of the Southeast Asia Research Institute at the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences, remarked that the expo platform now serves not just for displaying products and securing orders but also for finding the missing pieces in industrial chain collaboration, signifying a more advanced level of cooperation.

The concept of "future" took on tangible form at the expo, particularly in the dedicated future space pavilion where an electric aircraft captured the attention of both domestic and international visitors. Nearby, cutting-edge products such as AI-powered glasses, quadruped robots, and rehabilitation robots were available for live demonstrations and direct purchasing. In the AI section, humanoid robots showcased their ability to communicate in Vietnamese and other languages, with support for over 20 languages including Thai already in place. The developers plan to expand capabilities to cover all ASEAN languages. Additionally, a special "AI marketplace" within the expo curated 70 companies and 500 products suited for ASEAN markets, with plans to maintain this exhibition year-round as a permanent platform for Chinese AI consumer products, embodying the vision of a "never-ending expo." This forward-looking emphasis is driving exploration into broader regional digital and intelligent cooperation opportunities.