Port co-op tops the agenda

Representatives of China and the 10 ASEAN countries had poured the "Water of Cooperation" - water collected from rivers and lakes in the 11 nations - into a crystal bottle during the opening ceremony of the first China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) in 2004. This was an unforgettable moment for many people participating in the expo three years ago.

Recalling that impressive moment, Zhang Xiaoqin, secretary-general of the Secretariat of the Fourth China-ASEAN Expo, said: "Indeed, China and the ASEAN countries are closely connected by water - by sea or by rivers. We have a huge potential for cooperation in water-related fields."

This year, "water" has become a real highlight of the fourth CAEXPO, with the Port Development and Cooperation Forum, which opened on Sunday, being the most important part of the event.

Zhang summarized the history of the past three sessions of the event to indicate the importance of port development and cooperation in building a free trade area between China and the ASEAN countries.

"Expositions are events for enterprises to exhibit their commodities and conduct transactions. So the first CAEXPO was initially approved by the Ministry of Commerce under the name of China-ASEAN Commodity Expo," Zhang said.

"Thanks to the farsightedness of the Guangxi authorities, the event was soon renamed as the China-ASEAN Expo, helping it to include a wide range of activities besides commodity exhibition and trade," he added.

Free trade area

The CAEXPO's cherished goal is to help build a free trade area between China and the ASEAN countries, Zhang said.

To promote this initiative, the governments of China and the ASEAN countries have selected 10 key fields for cooperation, with transportation cooperation topping the agenda.

"No doubt, port development is the most important part of transportation because, at present, about 90 percent of international trade volume is realized through port transportation," Zhang said.

He added that an important goal of the Port Development and Cooperation Forum is to speed up the implementation of the Pan-Beibu Bay Economic strategy. Forming a port cluster in the Pan-Beibu Bay countries is also a major focus of the strategy.

The concept of Pan-Beibu Bay Cooperation was proposed by the Guangxi authorities last July and has been positively echoed by the countries along the Beibu Bay and the neighboring seas.

Zhang said the enhanced port cooperation will no doubt promote the development of Guangxi's seaports, which, though relatively less developed than other coastal areas in China, offer the shortest route for commodities exported from Southwest China to reach their destinations in South East Asia.

Huge potential

If the seaports in Guangxi enhance their development and strengthen cooperation with seaports in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore, they will surely benefit from the booming China-ASEAN trade, which is predicted to grow at an annual rate of 30 percent, Zhang noted.

The annual foreign trade volume of Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Chongqing currently amounts to more than $34 billion. With improvements in port facilities, Guangxi's seaports are expected to see a huge increase in commodity throughput volume, according to Zhang.

The booming port industry will also help Guangxi attract more foreign investment.

In May, Liu Qibao, secretary of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Committee of the Communist Party of China, headed a delegation to Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore to promote investment in Guangxi, and port cooperation was the focus of his tour.

Some businesses in the ASEAN countries have already shown their interest in port development in Guangxi.

In April, a delegation from Singaporean logistics enterprises visited Guangxi to discuss cooperation in port development in the autonomous region.

Also, officials and businesspeople from the ASEAN countries attending the forum proposed port cooperation projects in their own countries.

Although the program has been initiated under the label of China-ASEAN port development and cooperation, it is open to investors from all over the world, Zhang pointed out.

(China Daily 10/30/2007 page19)