Forge Ahead, No Regrets

In 2008， during the period of 5th China-ASEAN Exposition （CAEXPO）， Li Jinzao， the general commander of Guangxi Command Center of the “Two Sessions”， wrote a poem Xi Jiang Yue which narrated that Guangxi welcomed the people of ASEAN to join in the CAEXPO. Known as the “Green City”， Nanning held the 5th CAEXPO where people from various countries gathered together happily. Wish all participants had good cooperation with joint efforts at the expo for realizing the beautiful dream of China and ASEAN members.

After a dozen years， the much-anticipated CAEXPO will soon celebrate its 16th birthday. After so many years， CAEXPO still has wonderful performance and gathers business opportunities yearly like what the poem above writes. Meanwhile， a crowd who is known as the “exposition workers” always makes unremitting efforts for the success of CAEXPO night and day.

So， what are the wonderful stories behind the success of CAEXPO in the past 16 years？ What are the experiences and feelings of those contributors in this great exposition？ For this reason， the journalist from China- ASEAN Panorama interviewed Mr. Zhang Fan， the outstanding employee and project manager of exhibition division of China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat.

The satisfaction of clients is the best motivation for working

As the only international economic and trade exchange event co-sponsored by China and ASEAN， CAEXPO has significant influence and is held through extremely complicated and challenging preparatory works， which cover many domains and personages of all circles from the phase of project research， planning to the execution. Zhang Fan considered that all participation of planning and preparatory works means a test， while the recognition of personages of all circles and the success of CAEXPO are important standards of this examination.

“I am responsible for the exhibition work in daily life， mainly in charge of general planning， focus and highlight guidance， and specific implementation of the exhibition， such as controlling the progress of the exhibition， writing official documents. From the research， planning to arrangement， those works need to combine multiple elements like political diplomacy and economic situation for discovering features， planning the exhibition and executing the work. The whole process seems like writing a test paper， and the opening of CAEXPO symbolizes the release of the answer. When the result is the same as what you imagined before， the sense of achievement can clear all negative emotion in the year before，” said Zhang Fan excitedly.

During the process， the recognition of various circles not only brings the joy of the success as well as the knowledge， but also inspires Zhan Fan to work harder. “During four years when I have accumulated experience from the working of CAEXPO， many things and people impressed me. The most impressive thing was that an exhibitor group from Hubei could not set the mechanical equipment on time due to the delayed logistics service， and all polices， security equipment and police dogs had left and would carry out the final lockdown so that the group could not enter the exhibition hall again. We were stunned by one exhibitor who cried suddenly in the reception office because this problem would make them miss the precious first-day of the whole exhibition time. Finally， we helped her to solve this problem as much as we could.

It was fortunate that the last set of security equipment could be used for examining the mechanical equipment through the coordination of leaders at all levels before the final lockdown. Zhang Fan felt， “That scene really touches us when we recall and makes us realize the responsibility we assume at the first time. From then on， the earnest and expectation urge me to work harder and to improve the service effectiveness for being worthy of these dedicated enterprises.”

Love makes you do all you can

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky， a famous world musician， thought， “Being able to work as wholeheartedly as I do， is a huge happiness.” So did Zhang Fan.

When Zhang Fan was in high school， he had yearned for the CAEXPO after viewing the splendid performance at the first time. “We can enjoy amazing shows of national and foreign artists because our school is one of venues of Nanning International Folk Song Arts Festival yearly. These performances broaden my horizon and inspire me to study hard. Learning from my families who also serve for CAEXPO deepens my impression that CAEXPO is an international economy and trade exchange event full of business opportunities for many countries，” said Zhang Fan.

Driven from this yearning and love， Zhang Fan worked at China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat in 2015 with rising levels of the cognition and devotion. Zhang Fang said， “I am really fond of this job that gives me unique pride and sense of accomplishment， which is different from other jobs， so that I join in the Secretariat. With increased experience， I find out that CAEXPO involves people-to-people exchanges， trade cooperation and other fields， and it is a vital platform to promote China-ASEAN multi-field and all-round cooperation. Although there are many difficulties and challenges when serving for the high-level and large-scale CAEXPO， accompanied by my good partners， I have an unforgettable sense of satisfaction.”

Because of the hard-won sense of accomplishment and the love， Zhang Fan has kept self-demanding and constantly improves the working competence. “Works of CAEXPO usually relate with foreign affairs and have higher specification because it is difficult to make up for errors. Serious attitude in working makes me examine every detail and strive for excellence. The longer my work seniority lasts， the more important my job becomes， and I also focus on the time management when bearing multi-functions，” Zhang Fan said， “I like challenges because difficult things can generate the sense of achievement as soon as you accomplish them. We will acquire more knowledge and have stronger ability as we carry something with us for a while.”

Open up new horizon for CAEXPO

In 2018， Guangxi International Expositions Group Co.， Ltd. （GIEG） was formally established and became an important market force for the preparation of CAEXPO. Zhang Fan also makes his own new plan to face new changes of staffs in original team.

“I decided to continue working in the CAEXPO Secretariat after the establishment of GIEG because more workloads and bigger responsibility allow me to observe and think about the exhibition works with more comprehensive perspective， so as to be beneficial for making the overall plans for the upgrade and development of CAEXPO，” said Zhang Fan.

Therefore， he is also constantly “charging” himself to adapt to the new changes brought about by adjustments of staffs and work content. Zhang Fan said， “On the one hand， I have studied the books about Canton Fair's exhibition independently so that the theory can guide the practice and improve my own business level; on the other hand， I constantly improve work efficiency and adapt to the new work rhythm to deal with more affairs.

For the upcoming 16th CAEXPO， Zhang Fan is actively planning based on his work experience and newly acquired knowledge. He introduced， “I will continue to work for the exhibition projects and every affair is in an orderly manner currently. Among them， we have made corresponding visits and exhibition for major projects， such as the construction of New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor， the financial opening-up gateway to ASEAN， and the ‘City of Charm. As for the next step， we will follow up and implement every projects， and strive to achieve the goal of ‘steadily rising in the 16th CAEXPO.”

Zhang Fan insisted “more responsibilities， less complaints” in the interview many times. Meanwhile， it also allows him to improve his abilities continually for growing up with the CAEXPO.