CAEXPO Trade Push: Timor-Leste is in Nanning for the 23rd China–ASEAN Expo as an ASEAN co-organiser, using the CAFTA 3.0 theme to court Chinese buyers and investors with coffee, vanilla, cinnamon, handicrafts and tais textiles. ** **Logistics & Trade Corridors: China’s newly opened Pinglu river-to-sea canal is being marketed as a cost and time saver for China–ASEAN shipping, with expo visitors using QR-linked VR tours. ** **Regional Integration: ASEAN economic ministers in Manila agreed to provisionally apply an updated trade-in-goods protocol to keep intra-ASEAN commerce moving despite Middle East disruption. ** **Energy Security: LNG buyers are seeking more diverse suppliers and routes as Iran-related Gulf shipment risks reshape gas procurement plans across Asia. ** **Mining & Investment Signals: Timor-Leste-linked exploration activity continues to draw investor attention, including copper-gold project expansion news from Baucau. ** **Disaster Response Tech: An ARF urban emergency rescue workshop highlighted China’s firefighting and rescue equipment, including UAVs and high-rise ladder systems, for regional preparedness.