Nanning: China has remained the largest trading partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for 16 consecutive years, a commerce official said Monday. Trade between China and ASEAN reached 597 billion U.S. dollars in the first seven months of this year, marking an increase of 8.2 percent year on year and accounting for 16.7 percent of China’s total foreign trade for the same period, according to Vice Minister of Commerce Yan Dong.

According to Namibia Press Agency, by the end of July, the cumulative two-way investment between China and ASEAN exceeded 450 billion U.S. dollars. Chinese companies have been notably active in contracting infrastructure projects in ASEAN countries, with a cumulative turnover of 480 billion dollars by the end of July.

Yan Dong provided these insights at a press conference on the 22nd China-ASEAN Expo. The expo, scheduled from September 17 to 21, will take place in Nanning, the capital of south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.