China and ASEAN Strengthen AI Cooperation at 22nd Expo

During the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, organizers debuted an inaugural artificial intelligence marketplace featuring about 500 products across eight categories. The September 2026 showcase highlights how bilateral trade, which exceeded 1 trillion U.S. dollars last year, increasingly relies on cross-border technological integration.

From Exhibition Novelty to Cross-Border Commerce

Walk the exhibition floor of the Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center this week, and the shift from static display to practical application is unmistakable. Last year’s hardware novelties have given way to operational software. The newly launched marketplace features more than 70 companies showcasing wearables, health management, and consumer technology designed for direct on-site testing and procurement.

Here is why that matters for the broader region: bilateral trade between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations continues to grow. Chinese customs data shows that trade rose 24.7 percent year-on-year to 744.41 billion dollars in the first seven months of 2026 alone. Wang Jicai, secretary-general of the China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat, noted that while AI was mostly for show last year, it is now driving sales.

Real-World Deployment Across ASEAN Markets

Beyond the exhibition halls, localized AI models are transforming everyday commerce and infrastructure management. Consider the case of Wei Qiaomei, a 23-year-old livestreamer based in Guangxi. By utilizing an AI model trained specifically on ASEAN languages, local preferences, and cultural nuances, her employer recorded a 300 percent sales jump by identifying precise product selling points for Thai e-commerce consumers.

But the technological integration extends far beyond retail marketing. In agriculture and public health, cross-border deployments are closing developmental gaps:

• Agricultural Monitoring: In Laos and Cambodia, satellite imagery, drones, and ground sensors powered by Chinese technology and local field data track tropical crop pests across more than 20,000 mu (about 1,333 hectares).
• Public Health Safety: In China’s border city of Chongzuo, the center for disease control and prevention partnered with neighboring Vietnamese provinces to deploy a bilingual AI platform that slashes epidemiological reporting time from four hours down to 30 minutes.
• Energy Infrastructure: Runjian Co. Ltd. operates the RunDo platform in Nanning, remotely monitoring almost 300 megawatts of solar capacity across nearly 3,000 sites in Malaysia, boosting maintenance efficiency by over 30 percent.

Strategic Alignment and Infrastructure Access

The timing of the expo aligns closely with broader regional diplomatic frameworks. Wang Changlin, deputy head of the NDRC, emphasized that abundant regional data resources create favorable conditions for AI to empower economic and social development.

Indonesian and Singaporean officials have similarly stressed the importance of collaborative frameworks. Parulian George Andreas Silalahi, deputy chief of mission of the embassy of Indonesia in China, pointed to Indonesia’s National Strategy on Artificial Intelligence 2020-45, highlighting the necessity of cooperation to bridge funding and digital infrastructure deficits. Meanwhile, Singaporean Senior Minister of State Low Yen Ling noted that institutional platforms like the expo translate expertise into tangible cooperative projects.

Key Metrics in China-ASEAN Digital and Trade Cooperation

Indicator	Data Point	Context
Bilateral Trade Volume	Exceeded $1 Trillion	Reached benchmark figures last year.
2026 Trade Growth	$744.41 Billion	Recorded in the first seven months of 2026, marking a 24.7 percent year-on-year rise.
Expo Marketplace Scale	~500 Products / 70+ Firms	Featured across eight categories at the 23rd CAEXPO.

Through the utilization of Nanning’s digital infrastructure, businesses across the ASEAN region can tap into remote computing resources and models without needing to construct massive intelligent computing facilities themselves.

The Global Macro-Economic Ripple Effect

Projections from the World Trade Organization shared during ministerial discussions indicate that artificial intelligence could elevate global trade by 34 to 37 percent while lifting worldwide GDP by 12 to 13 percent by the year 2040, provided that supportive policies are put in place and digital divide gaps are successfully bridged.

Photo: global.chinadaily.com.cn

But there is a catch. As the 23rd expo draws to a close, the real test moves from the convention center floor to the sustained execution of these cross-border frameworks. What specific digital sector do you think will benefit most from this collaborative push?