The fifth China-South Asia Expo kicked off in southwest China's Yunnan province on Thursday.
The theme of the expo is 'Integrating into the Belt and Road Initiative, Promoting Win-Win Cooperation'.
Around 3900 business entities from 87 countries and regions, including 17 from Bangladesh, are taking part in the week-long exposition.
Around 60 per cent of participating companies have come from outside of China.
The exposition features 19 exhibition halls with around 8,500 booths covering an area of 190,000 square metres.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Vice Premier of China Hu Chunhua said the bilateral trade between China and South Asian countries more than doubled -- from US$581 million to $1.7 billion -- in the last one year.
"South Asian countries are very important partners in Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It will further strengthen the ties," he said.
Deputy Minister for Commerce Gao Yan said that the expo has become a major important event of China and Asia.
It is strengthening the trade relationship between China and South Asian and South East Asian countries, she said.
She also said China shares an excellent relationship with South Asia for a long time.
The relationship is now being rebuilt through the implementation Belt and Road Initiative, she added.
Ambassador of Bangladesh to China M Fazlul Karim and Commerce Counsellor Mahfuzul Alam Khan also attended the inaugural ceremony in Kunming.
Featured expo halls focused on advanced manufacturing, food and consumer goods, health products, medicine and agricultural products.
Exhibition zones were established especially for Afghanistan, the country of honour, and Myanmar, the guest country.
A series of events will also be held simultaneously with the expo, including the 25th China Kunming Import and Export Commodities Fair and the 13th China-South Asia Business Forum.
Yunnan is a border province in southwest China and a gateway to Southeast Asia and South Asia.
As the Belt and Road Initiative progresses, Yunnan is building itself into a frontier in China's new round of opening up, according to the expo organiser.
