"Through the auto expo, ASEAN countries including Indonesia can witness the new developments in the automotive industry and seize new opportunities to strengthen cooperation with China's automotive sector." On October 4, Agus Puryadi, Deputy Director of Indonesia's Directorate of Advanced Technology, attending the 3rd China-ASEAN (Liuzhou) Auto, Construction Machinery and Parts Expo in Liuzhou, expressed the hope that Chinese and ASEAN automotive enterprises would join hands in cooperation to achieve mutual benefit.

　　On that day, the 3rd China-ASEAN (Liuzhou) Auto, Construction Machinery and Parts Expo opened in Liuzhou, Guangxi, a major industrial city in southwest China and the Chinese industrial city closest to ASEAN. A total of 143 Chinese and foreign enterprises exhibited at the expo. Exhibitors included 46 domestic automobile brands and 8 domestic construction machinery enterprises such as LiuGong, XGMA and XCMG, and a special agricultural machinery exhibition was set up to meet the needs of ASEAN countries, attracting 10 agricultural machinery enterprises. ASEAN countries including Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Laos sent representatives to attend.

　　Xiao Wensun, Mayor of Liuzhou, said that in 2012 Liuzhou's automobile output exceeded 1.7 million units, ranking among China's top five automobile manufacturing cities and one of the country's seven major automobile industry demonstration bases. As China's automotive and construction machinery industry base closest to ASEAN, Liuzhou has deepened cooperation in the automotive industry between China and ASEAN countries by holding the auto expo for three consecutive years.

　　ASEAN is Liuzhou's largest export market. In the first half of this year, Liuzhou's exports to ASEAN reached US$193 million, with automobiles and construction machinery as the main exports. The medium- and heavy-duty trucks produced by Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Co., Ltd. and the construction machinery produced by Guangxi LiuGong Machinery Co., Ltd. are well received in the ASEAN market.

　　"Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor began entering markets of ASEAN countries such as Vietnam in 1992. It has now established nearly 30 dealership networks in ASEAN countries, achieving sales of nearly 1,500 medium- and heavy-duty trucks and 200 passenger vehicles last year. It ranks first in market share in the Philippines and second in Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam," said Cheng Daoran, General Manager of Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Co., Ltd.

　　"LiuGong products also maintain a good market reputation in ASEAN countries, with export share rising year after year. Last year, sales exceeded 2,000 units, with sales revenue of about 700 million yuan, accounting for about 16% of the company's international market sales. The ASEAN market has become LiuGong's 'granary market'," said Luo Guobing, General Manager of LiuGong's International Marketing Division.

　　LiuGong has also carried out in-depth development targeting user needs in the ASEAN market. In August 2011, LiuGong successfully developed a super-long-boom loader tailored to Thailand's actual conditions. The product adopts bearings with self-lubricating functions to better meet the special requirements of similar working conditions such as grain shoveling and transport; at the same time, it meets customers' requirements for high dumping height and large bucket capacity, and has good lift-and-translation performance and operating flexibility. In 2011, 126 super-long-boom loaders were sold, raising market share to 29%. Since 2012, sales of this product have exceeded 200 units.

　　Xu Ningning, Executive Deputy Secretary-General of the China side of the China-ASEAN Business Council, said that the infrastructure market across the entire ASEAN region will usher in a booming period of development. Take Thailand as an example. The first item of the national development strategy formulated by the Thai government is to increase infrastructure investment. It is understood that Thailand will increase investment of 2.2 trillion baht (about US$73.6 billion) in infrastructure construction, including building four high-speed railways centered on Bangkok, transnational roads and industrial ports. This investment is expected to greatly reduce logistics costs. For China's construction machinery industry, this is a rare opportunity.

　　The automotive industry is Liuzhou's largest pillar industry, with vehicle production bases of the four major automotive groups: SAIC, FAW, Dongfeng and Sinotruk. Amid the current slowdown in the automotive industry, Liuzhou's automobile production and sales still maintain rapid growth. At present, Liuzhou, Guangxi is committed to building the "Guangxi Liuzhou Automobile City", the Chinese automotive industry base closest to ASEAN. According to the plan, by 2015 Liuzhou's automobile production and sales will reach 2.5 million units. In recent years, with the rapid growth of Liuzhou's exports of automobiles and construction machinery to ASEAN, Liuzhou has become a "bridgehead" for China to enter the ASEAN automotive product market.