AsiaNet 0200179

NANNING, China, May 28, 2024 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/ --China-ASEAN cooperation has become an important area of concern at the recent "Joint Promotion for High-quality Development of the Greater Bay Area and Sharing Opportunities for the Construction of a Strategic Hinterland - 2024 Guangxi Hong Kong Tour". Among the signed projects, 61.54% of the projects were in cooperation with the China-ASEAN Industrial Cooperation Zone and it amounted to 66.63% of the total contract investment.

The participants believed that Guangxi is the "bridgehead" of China's opening up and cooperation with ASEAN. ASEAN has long been Hong Kong's second largest trading partner, Guangxi and Hong Kong can join hands with their complementary advantages and work together to expand new opportunities for China-ASEAN cooperation by deepening cooperation in the fields of industry, science and technology, and finance.

Guangxi has the unique geographical advantage of "being backed by the southwest, adjacent to Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, and connecting Southeast Asia", and has been deepening cooperation with ASEAN in various fields in recent years. The China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit have been held in Guangxi for 20 consecutive sessions with high-level delegations from Hong Kong and Macao participating and a number of projects have grown locally.

According to Dr. Lee Man Chun, chairman of the board of directors of Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing Limited, Guangxi will accelerate the development of the important strategic hinterland in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and continue to expand its opening up to the outside world, which will bring broader development prospects and business opportunities for Hong Kong enterprises, all of which is just the icing on the cake for expanding overseas markets, especially Southeast Asian markets.

"Hong Kong enterprises can take advantage of the RCEP regional accumulated rules of origin and Guangxi's shortest and most convenient industrial supporting distance to ASEAN, setting up factories and bases in Guangxi, expanding to the ASEAN market nearby, and fully enjoying the dividends released by RCEP," Wen Yingyi, president of the Federation of Hong Kong Guangxi Community Organizations, said.

Wen Yingyi believes that Guangxi enterprises can take advantage of Hong Kong's diversified platform to achieve overseas financing, listing and M&A activities, and can also take advantage of Hong Kong companies' good marketing channels and rich experience to "share the same boat together" with Hong Kong's service industry. The combination of Hong Kong's advantages in capital, technology, talent, market and management with Guangxi's advantages in location, resources, ecology and environment will help promote in-depth cooperation between the two places in different fields and jointly explore international markets such as ASEAN.

Since 2023, Guangxi, with the support of the country, has vigorously promoted the construction of the border Lingang Industrial Park and the China-ASEAN Industrial Cooperation Zone. Zou Zhanye, a member of the leading Party group of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Government and director of the Industrial Park Reform and Development Office of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, extended invitations to Hong Kong enterprises in terms of jointly building industrial parks, investing in the manufacturing industry of the industrial park, developing and expanding new productive forces, enhancing financial services and developing international trade.

Bai Songtao, Director of the Development and Reform Commission of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said that Hong Kong entrepreneurs are invited to join hands to build an industrial cooperation system of "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area R&D + Guangxi Manufacturing + ASEAN Market", focusing on new materials, artificial intelligence, traditional Chinese medicine and health, marine economy and other fields. The ultimate goal is to jointly promote the construction of a number of major innovation carriers, thereby enabling the industrialization of Hong Kong's R&D achievements in Guangxi.

"I'm confident that the two places will be able to further deepen cooperation and jointly create more economic opportunities," John Lee, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said in his speech.

Source: The Publicity Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region