Ding Xuexiang to address China-ASEAN Expo, says Foreign Ministry

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang will address the opening of the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo and Business and Investment Summit in Nanning, Guangxi, on September 17. Myanmar Vice President U Nyo Saw, the deputy prime ministers of Vietnam and Laos, and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn will attend. Guo also said the EU's revised Cybersecurity Act could cause over €360 billion in losses in five years, after 17 European telecom CEOs wrote of €40 billion in replacement costs.

Written by AI from Xinhua / People's Daily (China) · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 18 Sept 2026, 3:58 am IST

Source

Xinhua / People's Daily (China) · read the original report ↗

#china#asean#japan#european union#taiwan#diplomacy

Desk check · compared with the source

What the desk checked (5)

Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang will address the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo opening in Nanning, Guangxi on September 17. — Attributed to the Foreign Ministry announcement in the source text.
Leaders including Myanmar Vice President U Nyo Saw, Vietnam's Pham Gia Tuc, Laos' Saleumxay Kommasith and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn will attend. — Names and titles appear as listed in the source.
EU telecom lobby Connect Europe said the revised Cybersecurity Act could impose up to €40 billion in equipment replacement costs, in a letter signed by 17 executives. — Figure attributed in the source to a Connect Europe open letter reported by Xinhua; not independently verified.
China says assessments by 'relevant institutions' put possible EU losses at over €360 billion in five years. — Attributed to unnamed institutions by the spokesperson; source of the estimate not identified.
Descendants of Chinese WWII forced labourers filed a suit against Japanese companies in Hebei High People's Court. — Attributed to a Kyodo News question; case details limited to the source.

Written by AI from Xinhua / People's Daily (China) · not yet reviewed by an editor · How we use AI · Report an error

Analysts’ view opinion

AI Strategic Affairs Analyst

The China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning is not merely a trade fair — it is a platform through which Beijing seeks to convert economic connectivity with Southeast Asia into strategic weight. That a Politburo Standing Committee member, Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, will deliver the keynote, alongside senior representation from Myanmar, Viet Nam and Laos, signals the priority China attaches to this venue. The same briefing also carried responses on the EU's Cybersecurity Act, wartime history with Japan and Taiwan's Philippine outreach — a reminder that economic courtship and security friction are running on parallel tracks.

Held as the comprehensive strategic partnership marks five years, the Expo underscores China's priority of keeping ASEAN economically anchored to it.
High-level attendance from the Mekong states — Viet Nam, Laos and Myanmar — aligns with China's strategy of extending influence through land connectivity and infrastructure.
Beijing's criticism of the revised EU Cybersecurity Act frames telecom equipment security rules as protectionism, using European industry's own cost concerns as supporting evidence.
The warning to Manila over a planned Taiwanese office in Cebu adds pressure on a country already in maritime friction with China in the South China Sea.
Pushing economic cooperation while holding a firm line on sovereignty and security issues is precisely the balancing challenge ASEAN capitals face.

What to watch — Watch whether the Expo yields concrete supply-chain or digital cooperation announcements, and separately how the EU's Cybersecurity Act is finalised and how Manila responds on the Cebu office.

The story does not establish what deals will actually emerge from the Expo, the basis for the loss estimates cited on the EU law, or how the Philippines will respond.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 4 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

At a Chinese Foreign Ministry briefing, spokesperson Guo Jiakun announced that Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, a member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee, will attend and address the opening ceremony of the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Nanning, Guangxi, on September 17. The annual expo is China's main platform for economic and trade engagement with the ten-member ASEAN grouping, and this year marks the fifth anniversary of the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership. At the same briefing Guo also responded to questions on the EU's revised Cybersecurity Act, a WWII forced-labour lawsuit filed in a Chinese court against Japanese companies, and Taiwan's plan for a "representative's office" in the Philippines.

Key facts

Ding Xuexiang, Politburo Standing Committee member and Vice Premier of the State Council, will address the opening ceremony of the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, Guangxi on September 17.
Attendees include Myanmar Vice President U Nyo Saw, Vietnam's Standing Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc and Laos' Deputy Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith.
ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn will also attend the opening ceremony.
China's State Council Information Office held a briefing on the Expo and Summit on September 1.
The year marks the fifth anniversary of the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership, per Guo Jiakun.
EU telecom lobby Connect Europe's open letter, signed by 17 European telecom executives including the CEOs of Orange, Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica, said the revised Cybersecurity Act would impose up to EUR 40 billion in replacement costs.
Guo said assessments by relevant institutions suggest the revised Cybersecurity Act could cause losses of over EUR 360 billion in the EU within the next five years.
Dozens of descendants of Chinese WWII forced labourers filed a lawsuit against several Japanese companies in the Hebei High People's Court.

Timeline

September 1China's State Council Information Office holds a briefing detailing the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo and Business and Investment Summit.
Day before the briefingEU telecom lobby Connect Europe issues an open letter signed by 17 European telecom CEOs against the revised Cybersecurity Act.
Day of the briefingDescendants of Chinese WWII forced labourers file a lawsuit against Japanese companies in the Hebei High People's Court.
September 17Ding Xuexiang to address the opening ceremony of the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, Guangxi.

Who has a stake

China (CPC leadership, Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang) — Uses the Expo to deepen economic and trade ties with ASEAN and push a "closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future".
ASEAN and its Secretariat (Sec-Gen Kao Kim Hourn) — Fifth anniversary of the comprehensive strategic partnership with China; expanded practical cooperation and market access.
Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos — Send Vice President and deputy prime ministers respectively, signalling high-level engagement with China's trade platform.
European telecom firms (Orange, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica and others via Connect Europe) — Face up to EUR 40 billion in equipment replacement costs and diverted capital for fibre, 5G and 6G rollout.
European Union — Its revised Cybersecurity Act and equipment removal requirements are criticised by China as protectionist and damaging to digital transformation.
Japan and Japanese companies — Face a lawsuit in China's Hebei High People's Court by descendants of WWII forced labourers and Beijing's demand to address history.
Taiwan authorities and the Philippines — Taiwan's planned "representative's office" in Cebu and the "Taiwan-Philippines economic corridor" drew Chinese warnings on the one-China principle.

Why it matters

The China-ASEAN Expo is Beijing's flagship platform for locking in economic influence in Southeast Asia at a time of intensifying trade and technology rivalry with the West. In the same breath, China is contesting the EU's cybersecurity rules that could force removal of foreign telecom equipment, citing over EUR 360 billion in potential EU losses. Together, the announcements show how trade diplomacy, technology restrictions and historical and Taiwan-related disputes now travel as a single package in Chinese foreign policy messaging.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

23rd China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit: Nanning, Guangxi, opening September 17.
Ding Xuexiang: Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee's Political Bureau and Vice Premier of the State Council.
Kao Kim Hourn is the Secretary-General of ASEAN.
China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership completes five years, per China's Foreign Ministry.
Connect Europe is the EU telecom industry lobby; 17 telecom CEOs signed its open letter on the revised Cybersecurity Act (CSA).
China cited over EUR 360 billion in possible EU losses in five years from the revised Cybersecurity Act; industry cited up to EUR 40 billion in replacement costs.

Mains framing

China's announcement that Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang will open the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, with the Myanmar Vice President, Vietnamese and Lao deputy prime ministers and the ASEAN Secretary-General in attendance, illustrates how Beijing institutionalises economic diplomacy with Southeast Asia through recurring platforms, framed this year around the fifth anniversary of the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership and the goal of a "closer community with a shared future". The same briefing shows the counterpoint: China's objection to the EU's revised Cybersecurity Act, whose "blanket equipment removal requirements" European telecom CEOs say would cost up to EUR 40 billion in replacements and, by Chinese estimates, over EUR 360 billion in EU losses over five years, labelled by Beijing as protectionism that harms the EU's own digital transformation and investment reputation. Add the WWII forced-labour lawsuit against Japanese companies in the Hebei High People's Court and objections to Taiwan's planned office in Cebu, and a pattern emerges of simultaneous outreach to neighbours and pushback against restrictions and sovereignty-related moves. For an analytical answer, the way forward lies in reading such briefings as signals of where economic integration and technology decoupling collide, and in assessing how third countries balance market access with security screening of telecom equipment.

Key terms

China-ASEAN Expo: Annual trade and investment platform held in Nanning, Guangxi; its 23rd edition runs alongside the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit.
Comprehensive strategic partnership: The top tier of China's diplomatic partnerships; China-ASEAN ties at this level complete five years, per the Foreign Ministry.
Revised Cybersecurity Act (CSA): EU legislation whose equipment removal requirements European telecom firms say would drain capital needed for fibre, 5G and 6G.
Connect Europe: EU telecom industry lobby that issued the open letter signed by 17 top European telecom executives.
One-China principle: Beijing's position, invoked in urging the Philippines to avoid steps linked to Taiwan's planned "representative's office" in Cebu.
Hebei High People's Court: Chinese court where descendants of WWII forced labourers filed suit against several Japanese companies.

Practice questions

Discuss how platforms such as the China-ASEAN Expo serve Beijing's economic diplomacy in Southeast Asia, and the implications for India's own engagement with ASEAN.
Examine the tension between national security screening of telecom equipment and the costs of network rollout, using the EU's revised Cybersecurity Act debate as a case study.
Historical grievances and territorial disputes continue to shape East and Southeast Asian diplomacy. Analyse with reference to recent developments involving China, Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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