The Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has attached great importance to the preparation for the China-ASEAN Expo, which will be held in the capital Nanning. The expo promotes the opening-up of Guangxi as well as its social and economic growth.

In March, President Xi Jinping urged Guangxi to accelerate the development of the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone and the Pearl-Xijiang River Economic Zone, and become an important hub for China-ASEAN cooperation and a strategic point for the opening-up and development of the southwestern and central parts of China and for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and Silk Road Economic Belt.

Guangxi will focus on improving overland and maritime transport infrastructure, developing cross-border industrial chains and promoting the construction of a trade, logistics and cultural exchange center.

Guangxi has five vocational training centers for ASEAN countries and has set up ASEAN student scholarships. About 20 percent of ASEAN students in China study in universities and schools in Guangxi. Guangxi's universities have established cooperations with nearly 200 ASEAN universities.

On Oct 28 last year, Guangxi opened regular shipping routes connecting its Qinzhou Port with South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. There are now 35 regular shipping routes between Guangxi and seven countries in the ASEAN. Guangxi has 74 berths for ships of more than 10,000 tons and shipping routes to 221 ports in more than 80 countries and regions. Guangxi is building 12 roads connecting ASEAN nations via Vietnam, among which four are high-speed roads, and the other eight are upgraded roads.

China and ASEAN regard the road connecting Nanning with Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore as an important regional economic corridor. Nanning is also connected with Guiyang, Chengdu, Chongqing, Lanzhou and Xi'an by road and railway, making it a connecting point in the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and the Silk Road Economic Belt. Guangxi is actively strengthening the construction of its road, railway, shipping, air and telecommunication networks together with ASEAN member states.

Last year, Guangxi's foreign trade was $40.55 billion, up 23.5 percent from 2013. About 49 percent of the volume was from trade with ASEAN. From January to April, Guangxi's foreign trade volume was $13.7 billion, up 12 percent year-on-year, 19.6 percentage points higher than the national average.

Guangxi actively promotes regional industrial cooperation through industrial parks in Qinzhou and Kuantan in Malaysia, the China-Indonesia Economic and Trade Cooperative Zone and the China-Vietnam Economic Cooperative Zone.

Guangxi will continue to serve Chinese enterprises to invest in ASEAN and establish cross-border industrial and logistics chains, cross-border financial services and e-commerce industries.

liyang@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/18/2015 page17)