China ASEAN Industrial Chain Cooperation Becomes Closer on the Second Anniversary of RCEP's Effectiveness

Nanning, January 4th (Xinhua) -- Recently, the Guangxi Friendship Pass, located on the China Vietnam border, was bustling with trucks from China and Vietnam queuing up to clear customs. batches of agricultural products such as durian and mangosteen from ASEAN countries entered China through this area, and trucks loaded with electronic components and large mechanical equipment departed from here to ASEAN countries.
This port is a convenient land route from China to ASEAN countries and an important channel for fruit trade between China and Vietnam. After the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into effect, Vietnamese durian was allowed to be exported to China. Starting from September 2022, a large number of Vietnamese durians will enter China through the Friendship Pass port.
RCEP member countries include 10 ASEAN countries along with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, covering about one-third of the world's population and trade volume. Since the implementation of RCEP, driven by policy dividends, industrial cooperation between China and ASEAN has continued to deepen, helping regional economic development.
The trade of goods between China and ASEAN is becoming increasingly prosperous. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, the total trade value between China and ASEAN in the first 11 months of 2023 was 5.8 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.1%, and ASEAN remains China's largest trading partner.

Guangxi Yunduoduo Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. has entered into strategic cooperation with orchards and packaging factories in Vietnam, and has signed a cooperation agreement for nearly 3000 hectares of durian orchards. The chairman of the company, Wang Zhengbo, stated that for many years, the company has been conducting business at ports in Guangxi and ASEAN countries, and has personally felt that there are more and more business opportunities for cooperation with ASEAN. The demand, quantity, and variety of cross-border trade goods are becoming more and more extensive, and the freight volume is also increasing day by day.

Guangxi, located in an important location within the RCEP coverage area, has multiple overlapping advantages in terms of location, transportation, policies, and resources. In order to focus on building cross-border industrial and supply chains with ASEAN countries, Guangxi relies on various development zones, free trade zones, and industrial parks in Nanning, Beihai, Fangchenggang, Qinzhou, Yulin, Baise, and Chongzuo, integrating and constructing China ASEAN industrial cooperation zones, and promoting continuous progress in industrial cooperation.
Relying on abundant ASEAN imported goods and local advantageous raw materials, Pingxiang vigorously develops the landing processing industry, mainly including fruit, nuts, traditional Chinese medicine and other landing processing industries.
The Southeast Asian advantageous raw material landing and processing industrial cluster demonstration park located in Pingxiang Industrial Park is invested and constructed by Guangxi Zhongguo Industrial Co., Ltd. Wang Shujuan, the chairman of the company, stated that the project will be constructed in two phases, with a total investment of approximately 150 million yuan in the first phase. It was completed and put into operation in November 2023, and includes a production line for coconut and mango pulp, as well as a fruit and vegetable drying workshop, mainly producing lime jam. It is expected that the post production output value can exceed 300 million yuan.
Nanning (Shenzhen) ASEAN Industrial Cooperation Zone, Sichuan Guangxi International Capacity Cooperation Industrial Park, and China Malaysia "Two Countries and Two Parks"... A number of cross provincial cross-border industrial parks are rooted in the Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone, while a number of port and border characteristic industries are accelerating development, injecting strong momentum into building cross-border industrial cooperation between China and ASEAN.
The increasing complementarity between the industrial chains of China and ASEAN has brought enormous market opportunities to enterprises in the region.
In the Meisida factory in Qingxiu District, Nanning City, the workshop is busy, and the enterprise is producing machinery and equipment at full capacity. In recent years, construction machinery products have entered ASEAN countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia, receiving high praise from local customers.
"Many ASEAN countries are in a period of rapid industrialization and have a significant demand for China's advanced technology, products, and capital. With the deepening of China ASEAN regional economic integration, we are full of confidence in Chinese enterprises' exploration of the ASEAN market," said Huang Kanghua, Chairman of Mesta Group.
Sui Guohua, vice chairman of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said that under the promotion of a series of open platforms, Guangxi has constantly transformed its unique geographical advantages into development advantages, advanced the construction of new land and sea channels in the west at a high level, built a trans regional cross-border industrial chain supply chain of "the Great Gulf Region - Beibu Gulf Economic Zone - ASEAN", and is full of enthusiasm for opening up and cooperation with ASEAN.
Professor Zhai Kun from the School of International Relations at Peking University analyzed that China ASEAN has a deep industrial division of labor, and the initiative to promote economic and trade cooperation upgrading has significantly increased. With the promotion of the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" and the in-depth implementation of RCEP, the regional industrial chain of China and ASEAN will be further integrated, and bilateral exchanges and cooperation will reach a new level, which will help to build a closer community of destiny in win-win cooperation.