Huang Yunyun 　Mo Tingting

Along with the increasingly booming construction of airports, expressways and high-speed railways in ASEAN, there is a rising demand for building materials in this region. China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO), a crucial bridge of bilateral cooperation, provides ASEAN merchants with a channel to tap the potential business opportunities. As a result, in the upcoming 17th CAEXPO, the building materials exhibition area will still appear as a highlight to further encourage the building materials industry to exploit the overseas market.

Business opportunities increasingly surge as ASEAN steps up infrastructure construction

Chinas large production capacity of building materials and ASEANs large demand for building materials are the two foundations for bilateral cooperation in the field of building materials. Chairman of China Building Materials Group Song Zhiping said, “At present, Chinas infrastructure construction is out of the peak period, while the demand for infrastructure in countries along the Belt and Road features a rapid rising. China has taken a leading role in building materials production and infrastructure, while relevant industries in developed countries have been declining for about two decades, and their enterprises are far less competitive than those of China.”

In the whole year of 2019, the added value of Chinas building materials industry increased by 8.5% over the same period last year. Among them, the cement and plate glass outputs were 2.33 billion tons and 930 million weight cases, up 6.1% and 6.6% respectively on a year-on-year basis. And the output of commodity concrete, porcelain bricks, ceramic bricks, sanitary ceramics and other materials maintained a year-on-year growth.

Meanwhile, infrastructure development in ASEAN countries is in full swing. As such, sustainable infrastructure is a worthy priority in the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 and hundreds of billions of dollars shall be invested in this field per year. In 2017, the Philippine government launched a large-scale infrastructure program named “Build, Build, Build” that was projected to invest 8.4 trillion pesos (about RMB 1.16 trillion yuan) in infrastructure construction in six years. This program was described by Chinas Xinhua News Agency as “the boldest and most ambitious infrastructure program in the Philippine history”. Projects under construction or in preparation include such fields as roads, bridges, airports, railways, ports, flood control facilities and others. Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos and other countries have also put forward different plans on infrastructure construction, with a view to improving peoples livelihood, attracting investment and boosting tourism.

Apart from market-driven factors, the government also acts as a solid backing for bilateral cooperation. China-ASEAN Joint Statement on Production Capacity Cooperation and China-ASEAN Joint Statement on Further Deepening Cooperation on Infrastructure Connectivity were released in the 19th and 20th China-ASEAN Leaders Meeting held in 2016 and 2017, so as to help Chinas building materials industry tap the huge potential of ASEAN markets.

CAEXPOs efforts to exhibit building materials and boost cooperation

In view of the increasingly close cooperation relations between China and ASEAN, building materials have been one of the important topics of commodity trade at the CAEXPO. Those first-class building materials enterprises from Fujian, Shanghai, Hebei, Henan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shandong, Hubei and other places were proactively participate in this grand event. Buyers from Spain, Russia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, India, Pakistan and other countries were attracted to come here to discuss cooperation.

Among them, there was a high concentration ratio of the building materials industry in the 15th CAEXPO. The main industrial chain of “raw materials-semi-finished products-finished products-terminal products” was deeply dug, and the upstream and downstream enterprises engaged in raw materials, profiles, prefabricated building materials, aluminum doors and windows were organized to participate in the exhibition. Chinas well-known building materials enterprises, such as Alnan Aluminium Co., Ltd., Aidingqi Wall Co., Ltd., Singea Smart Lock and Shenzhou Thermal Insulation Building Materials, exhibited those informationalized, intelligentized, green and energy-efficient products, and promoted economic and trade cooperation through scientific and technological innovation, showing audience and the world the power of Chinas creation.

Besides, to unleash the market potential, CAEXPO also offered exhibitors and purchasers with targeted and professional services by holding a series of activities, such as the 2nd China-ASEAN International Design Leaders Summit Forum, the 2nd China-ASEAN Building Materials Household Product Quality Traceability Summit Forum, the 1st Thailand Building Materials Procurement Seminar, and Vietnam Procurement Matchmaking Conference.

It was reported that building materials registered remarkable economic and trade achievements in the 15th CAEXPO. Its turnover accounted for 38.2% of the total, ranking first among the domestic trade commodities and surpassing the machinery products for the first time. Chairman of Guangxi Pingguo Aluminum Group Xie Zhiqiang said Pingguo Aluminum Group has signed foreign trade and intention contracts with customers from Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and other countries, and inked purchase agency cooperation agreements with several dealers. “We hope to continuously expand cooperation with ASEAN countries via the CAEXPO and establish branches in 10 ASEAN countries to promote our products by virtue of the Belt and Road,” said Xie.