NANNING,Oct.20(Xinhua)--ChinaandtensoutheastAsiancountriesareenhancingmutualtradingtiesandmakingfinalpreparationsforAsia'slargestfreetradearea(FTA)asahighprofileexpositionandaninvestmentsummitopenedhereTuesday.Amidlingeringglobaleconomicdownturnandrisingtradeprotectionismfromwesterncountries,stateleadersfromChinaandASEANcountrieshavevowedtomakejointeffortsforafullrealizationofChina-ASEANFTA,orCAFTA,aswellasregionalprosperity.EXPO:ACCELERATORFORCAFTATheChina-ASEAN(AssociationofSoutheastAsianNations)ExpoisaplatformtopromoteexchangesandcooperationintradeandinvestmentbetweenChinaandASEANcountries.ChineseVicePremierLiKeqiangonTuesdaydeclaredtheopeningofthesixthannualeventinNanning,capitalcityofsouthChina'sGuangxiZhuangAutonomousRegion.MainexhibitionhallsweredecoratedwithglitteringsignsandpatternsofthenewFTA,whichwouldberealizedonJanuary1,2010.Stateleaders,highrankingofficialsandbusinessmenfromthetenASEANcountriesandChinaattendedtheopeningceremony.TheyallagreedthattheExpohasbeenplayingavitalroleinadvancingtheestablishmentoftheCAFTA.CAFTAwillcreateacombinedGDPofnearly6trillionUSdollarstobecomethethirdlargestFTAintheworld,onlynexttotheNorthAmericanFTAandEuropeanFTA.Andintermsofthe1.9billionpopulationitcovers,itisthelargestFTAintheworld.RepresentingthefirstfreetradeareaagreementsignedbyChina,theCAFTAwillprovidezerotariffon90percentofproductstradedbetweenChinaandASEANandotherfavorablepoliciesontradeandinvestment.ASEAN,aregionalcooperationgroup,wasfoundedin1967.Itiscomposedof10members,whichareBrunei,Cambodia,Indonesia,Laos,Malaysia,Myanmar,thePhilippines,Singapore,ThailandandVietnam,withatotalareaof4.5millionsquarekilometers.Inatimeofrisingglobaltradebarriers,ExpothisyearisseenbyobserversasanimportantopportunitytoenhancecommunicationandconsultationontheCAFTA,andstrengthenthepositionofChinaandASEANcountriesontheworldeconomicstage."ChinaandASEANsharestronghistoricaltradingties,andstrengtheningtradeandeconomiccooperationwithChinaisimportantforASEAN,"saidSurinPitsuwan,SecretaryGeneralofASEANattheceremony."Chinagrows,ASEANgrows,"hesaid.ThisyeartheExpowouldplayamoreimportantroleasChinaandASEANwillsoonwitnessthedueFTAestablishmentnextyear,hesaid.TheExpothisyearwasofspecialsignificanceasChinaandASEANwillsoonwitnessthelaunchoftheFTA,andtheExpowouldthusfurtherenhancetheChina-ASEANstrategicpartnership,saidLaoPrimeMinisterBouasoneBouphavanh.LaosactsastheCountryofHonoratthefive-dayExpothisyear.China'sMinisterofCommerceChenDemingsaidtheExposervedasaplatformtomakeenterprisesandpeoplefrombothsidesbenefitfromthefacilitationoftradeandinvestment."TheChina-ASEANpartnershipwillbereachahigherlevelafterCAFTAisfullyrealized,"Chensaid.MaBiao,chairmanoftheGuangxiZhuangAutonomousRegion,saidGuangxi,whichisadjacenttoVietnam,iswillingtomakegreatercontributionstotheChina-ASEANcooperationthroughbuildingGuangxiBeibuGulfEconomicZoneandpromotingthePanBeibuGulfeconomiccooperation.TheExpo,namely"10+1",wasinitiatedbyChinesePremierWenJiabaoatthe7thChina-ASEANsummitin2003,andhasbeenheldforco