On September 10th, the 2025 Sichuan - South Asia and Southeast Asia Business Development Cooperation Conference was held in Chengdu. Lin Shucheng, vice chairman of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Chathuranga Abeysinghe, Deputy Minister of Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development of Sri Lanka, Chandi Raj Dhakal, Acting President of the SAARC CCI, and Shi Zhongjun, Secretary-General of the Asean-China Centre, attended the conference and delivered speeches. The opening ceremony was presided over by Huang Li, the president of the CCPIT Sichuan Council.

This conference, themed "Together We Progress, Pursuing Common Prosperity: Build A New Pattern of Synergy in the Industrial and Supply Chain", attracted over 300 participants from government agencies, embassies and consulates in China, business associations, trade and investment promotion institutions in China, as well as representatives from relevant departments of the Sichuan Provincial Government, trade promotion associations of various Sichuan cities (prefectures), and domestic and foreign enterprises in 14 countries and regions in South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Under the impetus of the "Belt and Road Initiative", Sichuan Province has continuously deepened economic and trade investment cooperation with countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia. As an important window and platform for Sichuan Province's "Southward expansion" and opening up, the Conference has been successfully held for 13 sessions. This year's conference innovatively set up a "dual guests" element - Sri Lanka as the guest of honor and Nanchong City, Sichuan Province as the guest city. This not only serves the overall situation of Chinese national foreign affairs and diplomacy but also helps promote the industries of the city to the outside world, further expanding the depth and breadth of economic and trade cooperation in Sichuan, and continuously promoting economic and trade investment cooperation between Sichuan Province and South Asian and Southeast Asian countries.

During the panel discussion session, Chinese and foreign guests engaged in in-depth discussions on two topics: "Deepening Traditional Economic and Trade Cooperation to Jointly Enhance Regional Industrial and Supply Chain Resilience" and "Seizing the Digital and Green Wave to Innovate New Engines for Growth". They explored the upgrading of cooperation between Sichuan Province and South Asia and Southeast Asia in traditional fields and the innovative development in emerging fields, and reached broad consensus.

During the conference, the "Sri Lanka Exhibition" and the "Splendid Tianfu · Leisurely Sichuan" cultural and tourism special exhibition were held respectively, attracting many attending guests to stop by for exchanges and communications. Sri Lanka, the guest of honor, is renowned as the "Pearl of the Indian Ocean" and boasts eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It features a rich and diverse ecosystem with magnificent and ever-changing landscapes, ranging from lush green hills in the mountains to golden sandy beaches along the coast. Sri Lanka has a deep historical connection with China and has maintained friendly exchanges for a long time. This time, the Sri Lankan delegation brought Ceylon black tea, natural spices, high-quality gemstones and a variety of tourism experience projects, fully demonstrating its cultural charm and industrial characteristics.

The Sichuan Cultural and Tourism Exhibition, also on display in the exhibition area, takes the profound cultural heritage and magnificent natural wonders of the "Land of Abundance" as its theme, and showcases the unique cultural and tourism charm of Sichuan in a concentrated manner. Not only does it showcase five World Natural and cultural Heritage sites including the Giant Panda Habitat, Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong, Dujiangyan-Qingcheng Mountain, and Emei Mountain-Leshan Giant Buddha, but it also brings a number of intangible cultural heritages and traditional handicrafts such as lacquerware, bamboo weaving on porcelain, Shu brocade, Shu embroidery, and silver silk. Through a combination of physical display and graphic and textual presentation, It vividly presented to the attending guests a splendid picture where the natural wonders and cultural heritages of Sichuan blend together.

Apart from the plenary session, there are several side events including China-Foreign Economic and Trade Promotion and Enterprises Business Matchmaking Conference, 2025 Sichuan-Sri Lanka Economic and Trade Matchmaking Conference—High-level Government - Enterprise Dialogue Conference, Dialogue and Exchange Conference on Commercial Law between Sichuan and South Asian and Southeast Asian Countries, Visit to Nanchong Municipality of Sichuan Province.