KUNMING, Feb. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Southwest China's Yunnan province is organizing a 350-member business study delegation for an 18-daytour of five Southeast Asian countries in April, according to a source with the provincial government on Wednesday.

Initiated by a local company called Yunnan Shibo Group, the 1,000-km trip will set off on April 23, and participants are expected to traverse Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia and Singapore to reach the Strait of Malacca, said Hua Zefei, president of the group.

The whole trip to cover major cities of the target countries will end in Xishuang Banna in Yunnan province on May 10, and approximately 350 members, mostly entrepreneurs, and some governmental functionaries, reporters and celebrities in the fields of culture, sports and tourism, will drive in 50 to 100 cross-country vehicles.

The members of the delegation will have a wide-ranging contact and discuss business-related issues with them with personalities from political, industrial and commercial spheres of these countries, Hua said.

The visit, added Hua, would help boost economic cooperation between China and the Southeast Asian nations.

According to Chinese Customs, China's trade with the members ofthe Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) hit a record high of 78.25 billion US dollars in 2003, surging by 42.8 percent year-on-year.

Source:www.chinaview.cn 2004-02-18