NANNING, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The seventh China-Central Asia Cooperation Forum kicked off in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Friday.

Themed "Connect Cooperation by Land and Sea, Empower Development with Innovation," the three-day forum will focus on multi-field cooperation such as the Belt and Road Initiative and smart city projects.

Aimed at enhancing economic cooperation between China and Central Asian countries, the forum includes four sub-forums covering topics including "international logistics and e-commerce cooperation" and "satellite navigation system application cooperation."

The first China-Central Asia Cooperation Forum was held in Tongxiang City, east China's Zhejiang Province, in May 2012. The forum has since become an important platform for building the Belt and Road, consolidating political mutual trust and deepening people-to-people exchanges between China and Central Asian countries.