Chen Ruixian, Deputy Secretary-General of the organizing committee of the Sixth Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation Forum. [Photo / chinadaily.com.cn]

Nanning - South China Sea territorial disputes will not affect economic cooperation between China and related countries, a Chinese official told reporters at a press conference held on August 17, the eve of the Sixth Pan-Beibu Gulf (PBG) Economic Cooperation Forum.

The Forum is an annual event for PBG Economic Belt members to discuss trade, finance, tourism, and cross-border cooperation. The PBG Economic Belt refers to Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Guangdong province, Hainan province, and six ASEAN members including Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Brunei.

Over 200 participants will attend the two-day event, which begins today in Nanning, the capital city of Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

"The South China Sea issue won't affect our PBG Economic Forum, nor will it affect the economic cooperation between countries in the PBG region," Chen Ruixian, Deputy Secretary-General of the organizing committee of the Forum, told chinadaily.com.cn.

Countries in the region attach great importance to the Forum as a platform for cooperative projects and is attended by high-profile officials and business leaders, Chen said.

The theme of this year's Forum is 'Progress of CAFTA (China-ASEAN Free Trade Area) Development and PBG Economic Cooperation'.

China is now the largest trading partner and the second largest export market of ASEAN, while ASEAN is the third largest trading partner of China.

Trade between China and ASEAN has grown from $7.96 billion in 1991 to $292.78 billion in 2010, up 37 times. In the first half of this year, trade between the two parties reached $171.12 billion, up 25 percent year-on-year, according to China Customs data.

Participants at the Forum will exchange views at three concurrent seminars: Pan-Beibu Gulf Think Tank Summit - Regional Connectivity and Cross-border Cooperation; Cross-border Trade and Investment and Pan-Beibu Gulf Cooperation on Finance; and Pan-Beibu Gulf Cooperation on Tourism.