22nd ASEAN Chinese Business Summit Opens in Kunming
KUNMING — The 22nd ASEAN Chinese Business Summit opened on June 16 in Kunming, capital of China’s Yunnan Province, drawing nearly 300 overseas Chinese business leaders and entrepreneurs from 45 countries and regions. The four-day event, running from June 15 to 19 under the theme “Overseas Chinese Gather in Colorful Yunnan · Continuing a Brilliant New Chapter,” aims to strengthen economic cooperation and explore new trade and investment opportunities between China and Southeast Asia.
A Platform for Economic Bridge-Building
Founded in 2003, the ASEAN Chinese Business Summit has become one of the most important platforms connecting overseas Chinese business communities with China’s economic development. Over more than two decades, over 9,000 overseas Chinese business leaders have participated, and the summit has successfully attracted several Fortune Global 500 overseas Chinese enterprises to invest in Yunnan, according to China News Service.
In 2019, the China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese launched the “Overseas Chinese Connect Five Continents” brand, with the inaugural event held in Yunnan, expanding the summit’s scope from investment promotion to networking, trade, culture, youth engagement, and overseas Chinese community affairs.
Key Speeches and Themes
The opening ceremony featured addresses from senior Chinese officials who framed the summit within China’s broader development strategy. Sui Jun, a member of the Standing Committee of the 14th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and former Vice Chairman of the China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, called on overseas Chinese to actively integrate into the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) framework, as reported by Xinhua News.
“The ASEAN Chinese Business Summit has become an important platform for overseas Chinese at home and abroad to share hometown sentiments and seek common development,” Sui said. He urged participants to demonstrate new achievements in advancing Chinese-style modernization and contribute to deepening connectivity and building a community with a shared future for mankind.
Yunnan Governor Wang Yubo delivered a speech highlighting the province’s concrete measures in uniting overseas Chinese communities. Using four case examples — Qiaoxiang Hesheng, the China-Laos Railway, overseas Chinese-funded enterprises, and overseas Chinese-related films — Wang illustrated Yunnan’s achievements in attracting overseas Chinese capital, wisdom, and strength, according to Yunnan.cn.
Wu Huanyan, Vice Chairman of the China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, and Yao Bin, President of the Lao Chinese Chamber of Commerce, pledged in their remarks to “actively build a bridge for ‘two-way travel’ between Yunnan and overseas Chinese around the world.”
Format Innovation and Side Events
For the first time, the summit was jointly organized across three locations: Kunming, Baoshan, and Honghe, with events spread across these cities. This expansion reflects Yunnan’s strategy to distribute development benefits beyond its capital.
Following the opening ceremony, a series of side events were held, including the Yunnan Provincial Overseas Chinese Exchange and Cooperation Conference, a Belt and Road Cross-border Cooperation Fair, a Science and Technology Project Roadshow, an Overseas Chinese Youth Exchange, and celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, as detailed by the Yunnan Provincial Government.
Investment focus areas highlighted during the summit include green energy, plateau characteristic agriculture, cultural tourism and health, scientific and technological innovation, the digital economy, biomedicine, and the low-altitude economy.
Strategic Context and Significance
The summit takes place at a symbolic moment for China-ASEAN relations. The year 2026 marks the 35th anniversary of China-ASEAN dialogue relations and the fifth anniversary of the China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. China has been ASEAN’s largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years, while ASEAN has held the same position for China for five consecutive years.
Yunnan, which borders Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam, is positioning itself as a gateway to South and Southeast Asia. The province boasts the largest installed green energy capacity in China and the lowest carbon emission factor for electricity nationally. In the first four months of 2026, Yunnan’s actual use of foreign capital grew 17.7 percent year-on-year, outpacing the national average, according to data presented at the summit.
He Changsong, Chairman of the Yunnan Provincial Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, noted that the summit aims to leverage the anniversary milestones to gather overseas Chinese funding, advanced technology, and management expertise in Yunnan.
Looking Ahead
The ASEAN Chinese Business Summit continues to serve as a vital conduit for economic diplomacy between China and Southeast Asia. With the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement 3.0 signed in 2025 and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership providing a framework for deeper integration, the platform is expected to facilitate further investment flows. An ASEAN-Chinese Business Leaders Summit is scheduled to be hosted by the Philippines in October 2026, maintaining the momentum of bilateral economic engagement.
Reporting contributed by Xinhua News Agency, China News Service, and Yunnan.cn.