The opening ceremony of this year's 5th Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation and Development Forum and Trade Fair. Huo Yan

This year's 5th Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation and Development Forum and Trade Fair (5th PPRD Forum and Fair) in Nanning, the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, is widely perceived as an economic "breakwater" against the current tide of global economic despondency.

Taking as its theme: "Going forward hand-in-hand to seek closer cooperation and mutual benefits", the five-day PPRD Forum and Fair opened yesterday (June 9) and aims to provide development and business opportunities for the "9+2" members of the Pan-Pearl River Delta cooperation initiative.

The Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) is an economic entity, also known as the "9+2". Its members include the nine provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan provinces. Its so-called "+2" consists of the special administration regions of Hong Kong and Macao.

Co-sponsored by the '9+2' members and organized by the People's Government of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, this year's forum sees the attendance of a number of business representatives from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Union, as well as delegates from northeast Asia and the world's top 500 companies.

According to the organizing committee, the 5th PPRD Forum and Fair includes a high-level forum, a joint conference for heads and chief executives, professional conferences and seminars, a collective agreement signing ceremony for investment projects, investment projects promotions, and business project fairs.

The forum also highlights the need for greater PPRD and ASEAN cooperation. During the event the heads and chief executives of the "9+2" group will also host a tree planting ceremony.

Another highlight of this year's event will be the fifth anniversary celebration of the founding of the PPRD Forum and Fair.

This will feature seminars on wider cooperation in the fields of transportation, tourism, and media and will establish the need for greater levels of "pragmatic cooperation" between members.

Editor: Olivia