People visit the 15th China-Northeast Asia Expo in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province, Aug. 27, 2025. The 15th China-Northeast Asia Expo kicked off here on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Zhang Nan)

CHANGCHUN, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- The 15th China-Northeast Asia Expo opened Wednesday in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, drawing more than 10,000 participants from over 40 countries and regions, with cooperation and openness becoming buzzwords among attendees.

Themed "Join Hands with Northeast Asia, Open Up for a Win-Win Future," the expo, jointly organized by the Ministry of Commerce, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and the Jilin provincial government, runs from Aug. 27 to 31.

Covering an exhibition area of 73,000 square meters, the venue resembles a global marketplace. Products ranging from Russian chocolates and Mongolian cashmere hats to Pakistani vases and Thai balms are showcasing diverse cultures and traditions while reflecting strong business interest in cross-border cooperation and market expansion.

Visitors buy Russian products at the 15th China-Northeast Asia Expo in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province, Aug. 27, 2025. The 15th China-Northeast Asia Expo kicked off here on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Xu Chang)

Featuring Chinese characteristics and innovative products, the expo has also drawn strong interest from international exhibitors. At the exhibition, a personalized 3D sock knitting machine is attracting crowds of businesspeople eager to test the device, which tailors socks based on precise foot measurements.

"We came from Khabarovsk, Russia. I was surprised to see socks being made on the spot. China has many high-quality clothes and socks. We would like to place an order," said Russian exhibitor Olya.

Chen Aiping, an exhibitor from the Republic of Korea (ROK), expressed strong interest in pharmaceutical innovations, particularly Xiuzheng Pharmaceutical's Xiongdan Kaiming Tablet, a well-known traditional Chinese medicine compound widely used in the treatment of acute iridocyclitis and primary open-angle glaucoma. She expressed the hope to introduce the medicine to the ROK market.

Drone technology from the city of Tonghua in Jilin, meanwhile, has caught the attention of Indonesian exhibitor Chen Hongping. "The dry season in Indonesia is hot, and the risk of forest fires is high. Fire-extinguishing drones are very convenient and practical for emergency use in mountainous areas," he said.

Launched in 2005, this expo is the only international comprehensive expo to feature joint participation by six Northeast Asian countries and is also open to the rest of the world.

In the course of its 14 previous editions, the expo has generated commodity trade worth 10 billion yuan and facilitated 3,032 signed cooperation projects with a combined investment of over 2.05 trillion yuan (about 288.48 billion U.S. dollars), covering infrastructure, modern services, new energy, new materials, green food processing, auto parts manufacturing, cultural tourism and biomedicine.

The event reflects a broader trend of expanding regional trade. According to China's Ministry of Commerce, China's trade with the other five Northeast Asian countries had reached 901.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, up 1.6 percent year on year, accounting for nearly 15 percent of China's total foreign trade.

An exhibitor (L) and a guest talk at the 15th China-Northeast Asia Expo in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province, Aug. 27, 2025. The 15th China-Northeast Asia Expo kicked off here on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Zhang Nan)

China has maintained its position as the largest trading partner for all of the five countries, with ROK and Japan ranking as its second and third-largest trading partners, respectively.

Two-way investment between China and the five countries had exceeded 7 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, and has seen cooperation expanding into emerging fields including digital economy, green development, advanced manufacturing and modern services.

These figures highlight China's steady steps in terms of both opening up and regional economic cooperation. Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China has added or expanded 40 ports of entry, bringing the total to 311.

Customs now supervises an annual average of 5.2 billion tonnes of foreign trade worth 41.5 trillion yuan, the largest volume globally.

Infrastructure projects are also accelerating. In the city of Hunchun, located at the junction of China, Russia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, a 200-million-yuan inspection building project at a local highway port is under construction. Once completed, it will be able to handle 2 million passengers and 2 million tonnes of cargo annually.

"China is fully implementing the new development philosophy and building a new development pattern. The country is continuously meeting people's aspirations for a better life through the development of Chinese modernization, and providing new opportunities for the development of other countries," said Lu Xiangdong, vice president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.