The Beibu Gulf Economic Zone will strive for a higher level of opening-up to the ASEAN, said Wei Ran, executive deputy director of the local Planning and Construction Management Office, at a press conference on Dec 19.

According to Wei, the zone has made great progress this year in infrastructure construction, industrial transformation, creating new driving forces and bolstering an open economy by taking advantage of cooperation between cities in the Beibu Gulf.

A port-centered industrial cluster, backed by the Qinzhou Branch of the China National Petroleum Corporation, Beihai Branch of the China Petrochemical Corporation Branch and Beihai Chengde Group, has become a major regional economic force.

Fangchenggang Port [Photo by Huang Qidang/For en.gxzf.gov.cn]

Looking to create a better business environment, the zone has introduced a dedicated development fund to support infrastructure construction in the China-Vietnam cross-border cooperation zone and frontier ports.

The zone has also been devoted to promoting sea-rail combined transport, while supporting the opening of sea-rail combined transport routes to Chengdu, Kunming, Lanzhou, Guiyang, Yibin, Luzhou and Zigong.

A strategic cooperation agreement was signed between Guangxi and China COSCO Shipping Group to open more sea-rail combined transport routes and container shipping lines to other regions across the country.

This will further accelerate Guangxi's transformation into a new channel for international land and sea trade and a major shipping center in the Beibu Gulf, said Wei.

A China National Petroleum Corporation project in Qinzhou Port Economic and Technological Development Zone [Photo by Huang Qidang/For en.gxzf.gov.cn]