Myanmar president leaves for China to attend ASEAN Expo

Myanmar President U Thein Sein left Nay Pyi Taw Tuesday to start a three-day goodwill visit to China where he will attend the 9th China-ASEAN Expo CAEXPO) in Nanning, capital of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The visit is U Thein Sein's second to the northeastern neighbor since he took office in March 2011. U Thein Sein's visit came a week after Chinese top legislator Wu Bangguo visited Myanmar on Sept. 12 to 15. The CAEXPO, co-sponsored by the Chinese government and the 10 ASEAN member states as well as the ASEAN Secretariat, has been held annually since 2004. Myanmar is awarded the 9th CAEXPO Country of Honor this year and U Thein Sein will deliver a speech at the opening ceremony on behalf of the ASEAN member states and inaugurate the event which runs from Sept. 19 to 24. As the 9th CAEXPO Country of Honor, Myanmar will display its precious jade products at the event along with other Myanmar products from the sectors of agriculture, fishery, industry, manufacturing, traditional handicrafts, forestry and hotel and tourism . According to Chinese official statistics, China-Myanmar bilateral trade totaled 6.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2011, up 46.3 percent from the year before. China's investment in Myanmar also reached 20.26 billion U.S. dollars by the end of last year, leading in Myanmar's foreign trade and investment. In the first six months of 2012, bilateral trade amounted to 2. 6 billion U.S. dollars, while China' s investment in Myanmar also increased during the period. In 2011, bilateral trade between Guangxi and Myanmar reached 56. 19 million U.S. dollars, 197 percent up from 2010.