PR99770

NANNING, China, March 14, 2023 /Xinhua=KYODO JBN/--

Right now, at the Youyiguan Port in Pingxiang City, Guangxi, trucks loaded with

goods are crossing the China-Vietnam border. With the optimization and

adjustment of entry-exit policies this year, this major trade corridor linking

China to ASEAN and the rest of the world has returned to its previous bustling

and vibrant atmosphere.

Due to climate differences, fruits from ASEAN countries such as Vietnam and

Thailand ripen earlier, and for China, March is the peak season for fruit

imports. Fruits are perishable goods, posing high requirements on logistics

transportation, warehousing and customs clearance. According to Huang Feifei,

the chief of Youyiguan Customs Supervision Section I, "While administering

strict inspections, the Customs also implements measures such as 'green

channels' for imported fruits, '7*24 hours' pre-booked clearance, and rapid

laboratory testing, which substantially shorten customs clearance time for

ASEAN fruit imports."

In recent years, Guangxi has vigorously supported the infrastructure

construction of key border ports, including more inspection checkpoints and

larger cargo transfer sites. At the Youyiguan Port, it only takes around a

minute or even less for trucks to pass through the checkpoint. According to Xia

Gaofeng, Director of Chongzuo Foreign Affairs and Commercial Port Bureau, "We

have implemented a series of reform measures such as one-stop customs

clearance, fully information-based intelligent customs clearance, 'advance

review and clearance of import and export goods, and checkpoint inspection and

release', resulting in a significant reduction of time for vehicle customs

clearance."

The improvement of customs clearance efficiency has genuinely unleashed the

potentials of the port, while Guangxi's border financial reform has provided

great convenience for cross-border trade. In the China (Dongxing Pilot Zone)

ASEAN Currency Business Center, just a few steps away from Dongxing Port, a

giant electronic screen displays the official exchange rate of RMB to VDN.

Today, the area has realized the currency exchange between RMB and VDN using

direct quote.

Financial reform along the border has benefited the people of both China and

Vietnam, and cross-border trade has become more prosperous. In recent years,

financial institutions such as Bank of Guilin have successively carried out

cross-border transfer of RMB and VDN banknotes, and cross-border finance has

gradually expanded from merely a transaction settlement business to multiple

fields.

Wang Yunxiao, Vice President of Guilin Bank said, "We have also launched

special border prospering and enriching financing products such as 'Huibian

Loan', 'Hushi Loan' and 'Bianyi Loan' to meet the financial needs of border

residents engaged in cross-border trade, enterprises engaged in processing of

imported materials, and purchasers."

Guangxi's excellent border infrastructure is a guarantee for the rapid recovery

of cross-border trade. The upgrading of border power grid has led to a leap in

power supply capacity; the acceleration of the construction of border

communication infrastructure has basically realized 4G network coverage; the

constantly improving highway network, and the increasingly smoother logistics

channels, and the like. The infrastructure of Guangxi's border has been

veritably enhanced due to the concerted efforts of multiple parties.

According to Wu Xiaohui, Executive Deputy Director of the Chongzuo District

Management Committee of China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone, Pingxiang has 13

cross-border railway trains and 22 cross-border highway logistics lines,

capable of reaching more than 20 major hub cities in ASEAN countries, with

logistics network covering the Indo-China Peninsula.

In order to facilitate investment, trade, cross-border capitals, and

transportation, the People's Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

recently issued a multi-pronged plan to further promote the deepening of

reforms and advance opening-up efforts.

Bai Lan, the Full-time Deputy Director of the Office of China (Guangxi) Pilot

Free Trade Zone, introduced that the plan calls for the Guangxi Free Trade Zone

to fully implement the pre-establishment national treatment plus negative

management system list, and establish an operational and post-operational

supervision management system that is compatible with the negative list

management method, while promoting the opening-up of telecommunications, the

Internet, education and other fields in an orderly manner, as well as the

vigorously development of new forms and models of foreign trade such as

cross-border e-commerce, offshore trade, and digital trade.

In addition, in terms of open development and exploration and innovation, the

China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone will hasten the exploration of

institutional opening-up, create a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

Agreement (RCEP) demonstration projects cluster implemented as per high

standards, benchmark against the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for

Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) rules, and carry out pilot trials and risk

stress tests in key areas such as trade in services, financial opening, and

digital economy.

Source: The Management Committee of China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone