2025 ASEAN Mainstream Media Tour and 2nd Hunan (Huaihua) RCEP Economic and Trade Expo Launch Officially
On May 8, the 2025 ASEAN Mainstream Media Tour in Huaihua officially launched in Huaihua, Hunan Province. Over the next five days, more than ten mainstream media outlets from seven ASEAN countries—namely the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia—will embark on a deep-dive tour across the city and surrounding regions. As part of the program, media representatives will attend the2nd Hunan (Huaihua) RCEP Economic and Trade Expo, report on major platforms such as the Huaihua International Land Port and experience firsthand the vitality and opportunities in Hunan’s economic and trade exchanges with ASEAN. The tour also includes visits to Zhijiang, Xinhuang, and Xupu to explore the natural, cultural, and economic development stories behind the region’s distinctive cultural heritage.
Huaihua is a member of the“13+2”inter-provincial consultation and cooperation mechanism of the New Western Land-Sea Corridor and is the only freight hub in Hunan that oriented toward ASEAN markets. Since the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement came into effect in 2022, Huaihua has leveraged its strategic location—where the New Western Land-Sea Corridor meets the international land-sea corridor to the Indian Ocean—to become a new gateway for China’s inland regions to open up to the outside world. From 2022 to 2024, Huaihua’s imports and exports with other RCEP member countries have grown at an average annual rate of 87.23%, maintaining the highest growth rate in Hunan for three consecutive years.
Leveraging its international land port, Huaihua has opened seven international logistics corridors linking China with Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar, as well as 155 domestic and international transport routes, covering 138 ports and terminals in 50 countries and regions. In 2024, Huaihua operated a total of 1,009 freight train services, with its ASEAN-bound trains ranking among the top tier nationwide and its China-Laos trains ranking first in central China.
During the media tour, ASEAN journalists will visit the planning exhibition hall, customs supervision zone, luggage industrial park, and port-adjacent enterprises within the Huaihua International Land Port. These visits will showcase how Huaihua is building an open logistics hub centered around the land port and establishing a new inland development model that integrates“port logistics+regulatory innovation+industrial coordination.”The tour also includes visits to Zhijiang, Xinhuang, and Xupu counties to explore enterprises in agricultural product processing, traditional Chinese medicine, and new materials—showcasing Huaihua’s transition from a “logistics economy ”to an “industrial economy” under the model of “ASEAN resources–Huaihua manufacturing–RCEP markets.”
Beyond economics, the tour offers insight into Huaihua’s rich ethnic and cultural heritage. As one of China’s nine ecologically rich regions, Huaihua is home to over50ethnic groups including the Dong, Miao, Tujia, and Yao. It also has the highest number of traditional villages in Hunan. During the tour, ASEAN journalists will visit the Wuxi Intangible Cultural Heritage Park, the Memorial Hall of the Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Longxi Ancient Town, and the Simeng Bishui Danxia Scenic Area in Xupu. These visits offer a close-up look at Chinese craftsmanship such as Miao silver jewelry, Chenhe Mulian Opera, and Xupu Nuo Opera, providing an immersive experience of the integration of culture and tourism.
On May 9, the 2nd Hunan (Huaihua) RCEP Economic and Trade Expo officially opened in Huaihua, Hunan Province, under the theme “Sharing Opportunities Towards a Win-Win Future”, and the media delegation also joined the event.
The Expo brings together all 14 other RCEP member countries and over 20 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities across China. It was held both online and offline, aiming to build an integrated open platform for production, supply, and sales.
At the opening ceremony, Consul-General of Myanmar in Nanning Daw Khaing Su Lin gave remark by introducing Myanmar’s trade and economy. During the remark, Daw Khaing Su Lin said, “In this year Expo, we are exhibiting a wide range of Myanmar’s special products such as rice, pulses and beans, sesame seeds, maize, coffee, tea, beer, amber and handicraft, and so on. I would like to invite all to visit our Myanmar pavilion and explore the opportunities to join hands for mutual benefits.”
In addition, “I do believe that this Expo will pave the way for us to access Myanmar products to Hunan market, and build network with potential buyers and consumers not only in Hunan but also in Central China. Trying to improve bilateral trade and cooperation, Myanmar Consulate-General in Nanning has built a close trade and economic relations with Hunan Province especially participating in Expo and trade fairs. Myanmar participated in the First Hunan (Huaihua) RCEP Economic and Trade Expo in 2023 and this is the second time participation. In order to promote socio-economic development of Myanmar peoples, Myanmar government is striving hard to improve local economic conditions by setting priorities based on domestic situations and necessities. Furthermore, as a member of ASEAN and RCEP, while paying attention to regional economic integration, Myanmar is also consolidating cooperation with China, ASEAN and other RCEP member countries in trade, various fields of economy, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges,” she expressed.
“Domestically, Myanmar government economic strategic includes fostering a “thriving and robust economy” by supporting Micro-, Small-, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and boosting exports. It has been conducting economic reforms and policy liberalization in export/import. It has promulgated the Export and Import Law, Consumer Protection Law, Competition Law, Intellectual Property Law with an aim to promote international trade and integrating into regional supply chain,” she added.
Daw Khaing Su Lin also cited, “When we look at trade and economic relations between Myanmar and Hunan, trade between two parties reached about 100 million in 2024. So it still has enormous opportunities for further expansion by using comparative advantages of each other. For promoting bilateral trade, we can expand our trade basket by exploring new potential commodities such as herbal medicines, cotton, coffee, and fresh and process fruits.”
According to official statistics, in trade sector, China is the largest trading partner of Myanmar and bilateral trade reached over 16 billion USD in 2024 accounting for nearly 30% in Myanmar’s total external trade. Myanmar mainly export natural gas, rice and broken rice, green mung beans, rubber, sesame, corn, fish and prawns, garment and metals to China. In term of investment, China is the second largest investor in Myanmar with the total amount of nearly 22 billion USD up to March 2025 and 85% of Chinese investors have been invested in manufacturing sector.
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