MYANMAR businesspeople attending the 6th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) to be held in Nanning, China, from October 20 to 24 are sure to find economic opportunities, said Mr Zheng Junjian, the expo’s secretary general.

During a whirlwind tour of Myanmar to drum up interest in the expo, Mr Junjian said he would be meeting with Prime Minister, General Thein Sein, Foreign Minister, U Nyan Win and the Minister for National Planning and Economic Development, U Soe Tha.

Mr Junjian said the expo will bring together all the ASEAN countries to converse with the Chinese business community and a number of company representatives from all over the world.

He said the specific aim of the conference is to increase trade between the economically giant nation of China and the fast-developing nations of ASEAN. He said it was an opportunity that should not be ignored by Myanmar’s business community, especially during an economically difficult period.

“We [the CAEXPO Secretariat] have very good relations with Myanmar’s government officials and I’ll be meeting with the prime minister and foreign minister during my stay here this time.

“During the last expo we had Prime Minister Thein Sein along to experience the event and I’m hopeful that we’ll see other government officials and representatives from the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry, plus many private business figures participating,” he said.

Each participating nation will be looking to showcase their best-known and most competitive commodities. He said that over the previous five expos Myanmar had become famous for its gems, especially jade, handicrafts and agricultural products.

“Bilateral trade deals between Myanmar and China during the previous five expo reached US$42 million and we’re looking to better that this year,” Mr Junjian said.