The 22nd China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit concluded on September 21 in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with more than 500 economic and trade agreements signed at the event.

Wei Zhaohui, secretary-general of CAEXPO Secretariat, told a press briefing Sunday afternoon that this year's expo saw the signing of 155 investment projects, with 74 focused on processing and manufacturing, accounting for 88 percent of total investment.

The manufacturing projects cover sectors such as mechanical equipment, petrochemicals and chemical engineering, nonferrous metals, new materials, light industry and textiles, and information technology, according to Wei.

The five-day event spanned an exhibition area of 160,000 square meters and attracted 3,260 enterprises from 60 countries. Enterprises from ASEAN countries totaled 627.

For the first time, the expo featured a pavilion dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI), showcasing about 1,200 products, including about 20 large language models and 60 intelligent robots.

The 23rd CAEXPO is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 17 to 21, 2026, with the Philippines as the country of honor.