Guangxi to boost maritime economy links with ASEAN

Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region is set to intensify its three-year action plan for developing the maritime economy, officials from the region said on Feb 7.

The region will also strengthen cooperation and communication with ASEAN countries in terms of maritime technologies and the maritime economy, and push forward the construction of the China-ASEAN maritime technology joint research and development center.

Guangxi is the only coastal region in West China and possesses the closest marine border in China to ASEAN. The region enjoys abundant maritime resources. Its continental coastline stretches 1,628.59 kilometers and its usable port shoreline is 219 km, which could accommodate 834 productive berths.

At present, Guangxi has built 95 berths at 10,000 metric tons level, offering solid support for the Beibu Gulf Area to cultivate a diversified harbor industry cluster. It is estimated that the total output value of Guangxi's maritime economy reached 330 billion yuan ($51.15 billion) in 2020, with a year-on-year increase of 3 percent.

The region has now been devoting efforts towards developing seven green harbor industry clusters spanning high-end metals, new materials, electronic information, green new chemical materials, advanced equipment manufacturing, and forest pulp and paper.

Guangxi has pointed out that boosting the development of overseas cooperation industrial parks is vital for deepening international maritime cooperation, and the region has promoted 50 projects overseas including the China (Guangxi)-Brunei fishery cooperation demonstration zone. 

The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor is also a main artery for developing the maritime economy. The Beibu Gulf Port conducted a total of 4,607 sea-rail intermodal freight trains in 2020 - up 105 percent year-on-year - and handled 5.05 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).