Nanning-Singapore trade route important for Beibu Gulf

By Ma Yujia: 0 Comments Print E-mail China.org.cn, August 12, 2010

Adjust font size:

The 5th Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation Forum is held in Nanning on August 11, 2010. [Ma Yujia / China.org.cn]

Provincial leaders of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region agreed Thursday that the Nanning-Singapore Economic Corridor is important for the development of the Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation Zone.

Nanning, the capital city of Guangxi, is one of the starting point for a 3,500-kilometer transnational trade route linking China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. This axis will serve as China's main artery into Southeast Asia.

Guo Shengkun, party secretary of the CPC Guangxi Committee, said at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation Forum that the Nanning-Singapore Economic Corridor has achieved positive progress and become an important impetus for the Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation Zone.

Ma Biao, chairman of Guangxi, said think tanks in China and Vietnam have expressed strong support on the construction of the corridor and will release a joint proposal with advice on how to accelerate its development.

Guo Shengkun (L), party secretary of the CPC Guangxi Committee and Ma Biao (R), chairman of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region deliver speeches at the 2010 Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation Forum. [Ma Yujia / China.org.cn]

A highway connecting Nanning and Singapore has been completed, while more roads linking Nanning to Vietnam have been approved. A highway from Nanning to the Friendship Pass at the border between Guangxi and Vietnam's Lang Son Province has already opened to the public. The Nanning-Hanoi passenger train also began operations at the beginning of the year.

China's US$10-billion China-ASEAN Investment Cooperation Fund and US$15-billion ASEAN Loan Program have both offered strong support for constructing the economic corridor.

Guangxi, the only region in China that has direct access to Southeast Asia from both land and water, is undergoing rapid development ever since the signing of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area in 2002. It is accelerating the development of its transportation infrastructure while expanding cooperation with Vietnam.