The 7th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) in Nanning saw contracts worth more than 70 billion yuan (US$10.5 billion) signed.

The contracts included 76 international projects with a total investment of over US$3.2 billion; 96 domestic projects accounted for the remaining US$7.3 billion. This year's investment volume did not exceed that of previous expos, but the projects covered a wider range of fields in manufacturing, infrastructure, transportation, energy and communications.

Brunei Darussalam and Myanmar turned out to be the highlight of the project signing ceremony. Neither had signed any contracts at last year's expo, but broke records at this year's event.

Two Myanmar companies, UMEHL and HTOO, signed a US$2.29 billion contract with Guangdong Zhenrong Energy Corporation to build a 5 million-ton-a-year refinery.

The consensus at the expo was that infrastructure and energy had become the main focus of China-ASEAN economic cooperation.

"Chinese enterprises have been taking a more and more active role in constructing power plants, dams and bridges in ASEAN countries in recent years," said Diao Chunhe, chairman of the China International Contractors Association. "In the first three quarters of this year, Chinese enterprises recorded a contract volume of over US$11.15 billion in the ten ASEAN countries, and a turnover of US$8.4 billion."

The establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area has opened up more opportunities in the field of infrastructure, he emphasized.

The US$10 billion China-ASEAN Fund on Investment Cooperation, established in April 2009 provides support for infrastructural development in the region. The fund, which covers infrastructure, energy, natural resources, and communications, went into operation this March, according to Lu Yueping of the Export-Import Bank of China.