Guangxi hailed as key cooperation gateway

Several ASEAN diplomats have emphasized the strategic position of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region as a frontier and gateway for China's cooperation with Southeast Asia, expressing hope of expanding trade with China through multi-domain collaborations.

The "Shopping in China (Guangxi Station)" event, along with the Guangxi Silk Road E-Commerce Carnival, was held last week in Nanning, Guangxi.

The event aims to seize new opportunities arising from the official signing of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol.

Chen Gang, Party secretary of Guangxi, said the provincial-level region looks forward to collaborating with ASEAN countries, leveraging artificial intelligence as a driver to seize the opportunities brought on by the implementation of the CAFTA 3.0.

He emphasized the goal of jointly building a new trade paradigm centered on "ASEAN production, Guangxi distribution and China sales".

Singapore's Ambassador to China Tan Hai Chuan, who also attended the event, said that Guangxi is the only provincial-level region in western China with direct access to the sea, playing a crucial role in the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a crucial initiative on strategic connectivity between Singapore and China.

He added that the event has provided a broader platform for ASEAN countries to strengthen ties with Guangxi, and that Singapore will continue to deepen cooperation with the region to explore new trade and investment pathways.

Pham Thanh Binh, Vietnam's ambassador to China, addressed the opening ceremony via video.

He pledged that Vietnam would further enhance cooperation with Guangxi across various fields, accelerate infrastructure connectivity, and expand the export of Vietnamese fruits and other agricultural products to China through Guangxi.

"ASEAN production, Guangxi distribution, China sales", Pham Thanh Binh emphasized, highlighting key initiatives such as advancing the construction of standard-gauge railways like the Lang Son-Hanoi and Mong Cai-Ha Long-Hai Phong lines, expediting the development of smart ports and cross-border economic zones, and improving mechanisms to support the sustainable growth of cross-border e-commerce.

Benjamas Tanvetyanont, Royal Thai's consul-general in Nanning, noted that "out of every three durians exported from Thailand to China, one passes through Guangxi."

She stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation in the digital and e-commerce economies.

Guangxi has been actively developing "Silk Road E-Commerce" targeting ASEAN, organizing initiatives such as a fruit promotion campaign in June and the Guangxi New Silk Road New Year's Eve E-commerce Festival.

From January to November, Guangxi's cross-border e-commerce imports and exports exceeded 45 billion yuan ($6.4 billion), with over 30 billion yuan attributed to trade with ASEAN countries, marking an 11.7 percent increase.

Data show that the region has become a key gateway for ASEAN fruits like durians and jackfruits entering the Chinese market, accounting for over one-third of the country's total imports of such products.