Nannning, Sep 16 (IANS): The 11th Pan-Beibu Gulf (PBG) Economic Cooperation Forum will be held on October 15 here, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with the main focus on cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

The event, to be held both online and offline, will have discussions on topics such as the construction of international gateway ports and the new international land-sea trade corridor, as well as the development of the digital and marine economies, Xinhua news agency reported.

The PBG economic zone covers Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan in China, as well as some Asean members including Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei and Thailand.

Initiated in 2006, the PBG Economic Cooperation Forum has attracted more than 3,000 government officials, scholars and entrepreneurs from around the world.

China's trade with Asean stood at 2.51 trillion yuan (about 371 billion US dollars) in the first seven months of 2020, up 6.6 per cent year-on-year, data from the General Administration of Customs shows.

Asean remained China's biggest trading partner during the same period, accounting for 14.6 per cent of the nation's total foreign trade volume, amid upgraded free trade area protocols and supply chain cooperation.