Zhanjiang Far East Steel Structure started trial production in early June and will export products to Indonesia in mid-July. [Provided to China Daily]

Fluency of locals in Southeast Asian languages is a major asset for development, Xu Jingxi reports.

Having the only industrial park targeting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Guangdong province, the Fenyong High-Tech Industrial Development Zone in Zhanjiang has built close connections with Thailand and Indonesia and has made it a priority this year to attract investment from Southeast Asian countries.

Zhanjiang, the port city that is the southernmost on the Chinese mainland, is recognized by the National Development and Reform Commission as a strategic fulcrum city in the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative.

The Fenyong zone is designated to pioneer the city's participation in the initiative, said Zou Yongbing, director of the zone's administrative committee.

The high-tech zone grew out of the Fenyong Overseas Chinese Farm, which was established in 1952 to offer resettlement opportunities for returning overseas Chinese.

Most of them returned from Southeast Asian countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand, which are all along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

About 66 percent of the zone's current residents are returned overseas Chinese and their relatives. Because of their fluency in Southeast Asian languages, they are especially welcomed by enterprises from ASEAN members, said Chen Anming, who was the high-tech zone's Party chief from June 2013 to January 2015.

"Fenyong has natural ties with ASEAN countries and we will rely on returning Chinese to develop the zone into an important platform for Guangdong to cooperate with ASEAN," Zou said.

The zone focused on forging partnerships with Thailand and Indonesia in the first half of this year and has achieved significant results, he said.

Thailand's Trade Development Commission of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises will soon set up an office in the zone and is discussing with the zone's administrative committee on establishing a China-Thailand industrial park in Zhanjiang.

The committee is also talking with major Indonesian companies including PT AKR, a leading company for logistics, supply chain and infrastructure, on setting up a China-Indonesia industrial park in the city.

"It is of utmost priority in our work in the forthcoming period to attract ASEAN enterprises to Fenyong. Our goal is to have three to five such enterprises in our industrial parks early next year," Zou said.

With a similar climate to Southeast Asia, Zhanjiang is suitable for growing many of the region's typical agricultural products and has a bright future for cooperation in the intensive processing of farm produce, he said.

The strength of ASEAN enterprises in the pharmaceuticals industry is also what the high-tech zone wants as its industrial plan gives priority to the development of such industries as food production, pharmaceuticals and machinery, he added.

"Fenyong speed"

The Fenyong high-tech zone was officially founded in 2013 and has been developing "in the fast lane" for the past two years, Zou said.