The Chongzuo Area of the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone

The China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone was set up in July 2019 with the approval of the State Council. The Chongzuo Area, one of the three areas of the pilot free trade zone, is located in Pingxiang City, Chongzuo City, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The Chongzuo Area has an area of 15 km2, covering the main urban area, port area, logistics park, and comprehensive bonded zone. It is south of Youyi Pass, north of Hongmu City, West of Puzhai, and to the east of Wantong Logistics Park. It has a planned area of 51.83 km2, and belongs to the overall plan of the construction land in the central urban area.

As a pilot zone for comprehensively deepening reform and opening up, the Chongzuo Area is committed to innovating cross-border trade, cross-border logistics, cross-border finance, cross-border tourism, and cross-border labor cooperation. It forms a model zone for cross-border industrial cooperation, and constructs a new portal for international land and sea trade.

There are several national-level open platforms, including the Chongzuo Area, the Guangxi Pingxiang Integrated Free Trade Zone, the Pingxiang Border Economic Cooperation Zone, the Sino-Vietnam Pingyang-Thị trấn Đồng Đăng Cross-border Economic Cooperation Zone, the Guangxi Pilot Zone for Comprehensive Reform of Border Finance, the Guangxi Pingxiang Key Pilot Zone for Development and Opening Up, and the China-ASEAN Pingxiang Pilot Zone for the Inspection and Quarantine of Border Trade.

Along with the seven national level strategic platforms, Chongzuo Area will give full play to its roles as a portal in international land and sea trade, a portal connecting China and China-Indochina Peninsula, an important strategic area of the development and opening up of Southwest and South Central China and the Belt and Road Initiative, and as a pilot zone for deepening reforms and institutional innovation.

Based on cross-border trade, finance, logistics, and tourism, it will accelerate the innovative development, transformation and upgrading of small-scale border trade, accelerate the settlement of enterprises, integrate resources in terms of trade facilitation, cross-border tourism, financial innovation services, land development, inspection and entry, cross-border labor services, business policies, and business environment, and will promote aligned development in and outside of the area.

It will further deepen reforms, expand openness, promote institutional innovation and project construction, and give priority to corporate needs. Based on its advantages as a border area, it will strive to become a new model in the industrial cooperation between China and Vietnam, as well as between China and the ASEAN. It will also be a model of the high-quality development of a port economy, and a new driving force in opening up to the outside. It strives to gain reform experience that could be promoted to other border areas of China.