Guangxi seeks to deepen cooperation with HK

Guangxi expects to deepen its cooperation with Hong Kong, especially in logistics and shipping, to explore opportunities in Belt and Road Initiative regions, Guangxi officials said at a seminar in Hong Kong on Thursday.

Wei Ran, executive deputy director-general at Beibu Gulf Economic Zone and Cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Office of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, said Guangxi has endeavored to jointly build the new route for international trade across land and overseas, and is seeking collaboration with Hong Kong — the autonomous region’s largest source of foreign capital, overseas trade partner and investment destination — by deepening logistics cooperation, promoting portal construction and developing new business opportunities based on the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement structure.

Wei elaborated that Hong Kong could be Guangxi’s partner to help domestic companies go out, taking advantage of the city’s status as an international financial center.

He also mentioned that Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone is a critical portal in the Belt and Road Initiative region, connecting with other important gateways and supporting the development of the southwest and middle-south regions in the Chinese mainland.

Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone — comprising of Nanning, Chongzuo, Qinzhou, Yulin, Fangchenggang and Beihai — covers 425 million square kilometers of land and has a population of about 23 million.

Mandy Ng, regional director of southern China at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, said the geographical advantage of Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone is vital and its development promising.

She said Hong Kong is the world’s seventh-largest trade economy but its shipping center status faces huge challenges as development of portals — including those in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Ningbo — gains ground. Therefore Hong Kong faces an urgent task of collaborating with mainland provinces and cities to grasp opportunities from the Belt and Road Initiative.

According to Ng, 171 million tons of vessels were registered in Hong Kong as of October last year, accounting for 9.3 percent of the world total. And since 2010, the average annual growth rate of port handling capacity at Guangxi Beibu Gulf Port reached 9.3 percent and container throughput capacity grew 21.3 percent.

Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone is a critical portal in the Belt and Road Initiative region, connecting with other important gateways...”

Wei Ran,