Qinzhou sets expectations high

The Belt and Road Initiative helps Qinzhou build 'the most beautiful inland seaside city'

Qinzhou is a booming industrial port city at the center of the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, South China. It is known as the hometown of national heroes, capital of Nixing pottery and home of dolphins.

The 10,800-square-kilometer city is made up of two counties and four districts, has 562.6 kilometers of coastline and a population of 4 million people.

Before the city was named Qinzhou, about 1,400 years ago, it was an important port on the ancient Maritime Silk Road more than 2,000 years ago.

Since then, Xi'niujiao county and the mouth of the Dafeng River have always been important trade hubs. The city was also a crucial port for foreign trade during the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

Qinzhou boasts picturesque scenery and a mild climate. It is abundant in unique tourism resources. The city, honored as one of China's Excellent Tourism Cities in 2008, boasts multiple national-level 4A scenic spots. These include Sanniang Bay, Bazhai Valley and the former residences of General Liu Yongfu and General Feng Zicai, who became Chinese national heroes during the war between the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and France in late 19th century.

Chinese white dolphins, also known in China as "giant pandas of the sea" are often seen swimming in Sanniang Bay. Maowei Sea, China's biggest semi-closed inland sea, is one of the first national-level ocean parks. Nixing pottery, one of the top four potteries in China, is listed as an intangible cultural heritage.

Qinzhou is also rich in natural resources. It is famous for its lychees, water buffalo and oysters. Other local produce include blue crab, fish eggs, grouper, dragon fruit, bananas and buffalo milk.

Qinzhou is easily accessible by land, sea and air. It is one of the shortest sea gateways connecting China and the region of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Qinzhou has direct sea routes to Hong Kong, Macao and Europe. Three high-speed railways, seven other railways and five expressways radiate out from the city center, making it a transport hub in the north Beibu Gulf. International airports in Nanning and Beihai are both an hour long drive from Qinzhou.

Guangxi Qinzhou Free Trade Port Area is China's closest free trade port to the ASEAN regions and the only one in west China. The assembled vehicles import port, the fifth of its kind in the country, is in the port area.

The first industrial park co-built by the Chinese and Malaysian governments, China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park, is one of Qinzhou's national-level platforms and is also located in the port area. In the city, there is also Taiwan Farmer's Venture Park and Qinzhou Port Economic and Technological Development Zone.

In 2008, Qinzhou was identified as one of China's key destinations for processing trade industries transferred from East China. In 2010, Qinzhou Port Economic and Technological Development Zone was upgraded to national-level under the approval of the State Council of China.

Sun Yat-sen, founding father of the Republic of China, earmarked Qinzhou Port as a major port in South China in his book Principles for National Construction in 1919.

Today, Qinzhou Port covers Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Chongqing and Hunan, where more than 300 million people live. Qinzhou is the nearest port connecting these regions with Southeast Asia, where about 600 million people live.

According to the development plans for Qinzhou Port, when complete it will have more than 200 wharves, for vessels ranging from 10 metric tons to 300,000 tons. Its annual handling capacity is expected to reach 500 million tons.

In 2014, the port's throughput amounted to 100 million tons. Qinzhou Port became a major container port in Beibu Gulf in 2014, with 700,000 containers passing through.

Development work at the port has been accelerated and a 300,000-ton channel and wharf are due to be put into operation this year. The port's handling capacity is projected to hit 200 million tons by 2020.

The local government will expedite the construction of Qinzhou Base for the China-ASEAN Port Cities Network and promote collaboration between Qinzhou and 47 key ASEAN port cities in fields including opening sea routes, port construction, port-centered industries, international trade, culture, tourism and sister cities.

The government's objective is to build the city into a hub and portal for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and China-ASEAN cooperation.

A coastal industrial cluster featuring industries, including petrochemicals, energy, papermaking, electronics, metallurgy, grains, oils and foodstuff and modern logistics, prospers in Qinzhou.

In the first half of this year, the output of industrial enterprises with annual revenue of 20 million yuan ($3 million) or more reached 61.3 billion yuan. The government's fiscal revenue sat at 9.65 billion yuan, up 31.7 percent year-on-year. Import and export trade volume was $2.73 billion, up by 3 percent year-on-year, topping all cities in Guangxi.

In the first half of this year, the Qinzhou Port handled 31.97 million tons of cargo, up 1.1 percent year-on-year, including 385,000 containers, up 16.1 percent, ranking first among all Beibu Gulf ports.

The Qinzhou government estimates the city will welcome 10 million tourists this year, up 15 percent from 2014, bringing in 9.09 billion yuan in revenue. They will include 53,000 overseas tourists, increasing 5 percent, leading to $19.37 million foreign exchange, up 10 percent, the government estimates.

The city is implementing the Belt and Road Initiative, which the Chinese government proposed to promote common development and industrial cooperation, expediting international cooperation and opening-up. Qinzhou's priorities lay in creating a vital economy, a charming city, a harmonious society and a better living environment.

Learning from the successful experiences of other developed coastal regions in China, Qinzhou is applying to the central government to establish the China (Beibu Gulf) Free Trade Pilot Zone.

liyang@chinadaily.com.cn Huoyan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/18/2015 page18)