General

Recently, the Department of Commerce of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the Consulate General of ASEAN in Nanning held a Spring Tea delegation visit in Nanning. The theme of the group visit was "Joining hands with the new era, welcoming new opportunities, and building a new home together". Yang Chunting, Director of the Department of Commerce of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Binjiama Tawethayano, Consul General of the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Thailand in Nanning, Jue Suo Deng, Consul General of the Consulate General of the Republic of Myanmar in Nanning, and Du Nanzhong, Consul General of the Consulate General of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Nanning Ahonsen Lompazhan, Acting Consul General of the Consulate General of the Lao Socialist Republic in Nanning, and Lowatana, Acting Consul General of the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Cambodia in Nanning, jointly attended. As the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Rabbit approaches, all parties gather together to review the new achievements of international trade and economic cooperation between Guangxi and ASEAN, plan a new blueprint for future cooperation, and lay a solid foundation for enhancing cooperation confidence, clarifying cooperation direction, and determining cooperation priorities in the new year.

The symposium had a warm atmosphere, and all parties had extensive and in-depth exchanges on deepening cooperation in the economic and trade fields between Guangxi and ASEAN. Yang Chunting stated that in 2023, with the in-depth implementation of the RCEP agreement and the acceleration of the construction of the 3.0 version of the China ASEAN Free Trade Area, Guangxi has broad prospects for cooperation with ASEAN. Guangxi is willing to work with all parties to seize new opportunities and further deepen trade and investment cooperation; Start a new journey and further deepen the construction of cooperation mechanisms; Show new achievements and jointly build new channels for international trade. Binjiama Taveta Yanong expressed her willingness to strengthen win-win cooperation with Guangxi in the fields of trade and investment, with a focus on strengthening development and cooperation in areas such as digital economy and smart logistics. She looks forward to the accelerated opening of more ports such as Longbang and Shuikou. Kyaw Soe Thein said that Myanmar is willing to expand cooperation with China and ASEAN countries in economy, trade, investment and technical cooperation. He believes that the "the Belt and Road" project will attract investment in manufacturing, energy and service industries. Du Nanzhong stated that the international trade and economic relations between Vietnam and Guangxi are inseparable. With China optimizing epidemic prevention and control measures, Vietnam welcomes Guangxi to actively send a delegation to visit Vietnam and jointly explore business opportunities. The representative of Longwatana stated that the memorandum of understanding signed between the Guangxi Department of Commerce and the General Administration for Trade Promotion of the Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia will pave the way for Cambodian products, especially agricultural products, to enter the Chinese market through Guangxi.

Since 2022, Guangxi has actively seized the opportunities for the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and ASEAN and the effective implementation of RCEP, continuously promoting economic and trade cooperation between Guangxi and ASEAN to new heights. As of 2022, ASEAN has remained Guangxi's largest international trading partner for 23 consecutive years. In 2022, Guangxi's international trade imports and exports to ASEAN amounted to 28.1.11 billion yuan, accounting for 42.6% of the total import and export volume of the region. Among them, imports and exports to the Philippines, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Myanmar increased significantly by 128.4%, 99.1%, 88.3%, 73.8%, and 68.6%, respectively.

The symposium also invited representatives from the Guangxi Chamber of Commerce in Brunei, the China Laos Business Cooperation Promotion Committee of the Lao National Chamber of Commerce, the Guangxi Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar, and the Guangxi Chamber of Commerce in Thailand to participate in the ASEAN Business Association.