ASEAN proximity helps city to attract visitors
Through hosting a number of high-profile international events, Nanning, the capital city of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, has increased its international influence and boosted local economic growth.
The city is the permanent host of the China-ASEAN Expo - an important event for promoting investment and trade between China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
It has also played host to a number of international events relating to China-ASEAN cooperation, such as the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit and a China-ASEAN international auto show.
A series of international cultural events, including the Nanning International Folk Song Festival and the upcoming 2016 Asian International Stamp Exhibition, have played an important role in raising the city's international status.
Zhou Hongbo, mayor of Nanning, said the city's goal is to become a regional cultural hub that can serve an innovation-driven economy, benefiting the spiritual well-being of locals and offering more options to tourists.
Capitalizing on its geographic location adjacent to the Southeast Asian countries, Nanning has become a hub city for China-ASEAN economic cooperation.
Six of the 10 ASEAN members have established consulates in Nanning to serve booming regional trade and investment activities.
In addition, Nanning has established friendly relations with 20 cities in the world, extending its influence beyond the ASEAN members.
In recent years, the city has been actively integrated into a number of national strategies for opening-up and development. It is an important part of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone, the Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Zone and the Pan-Pearl River Delta Economic Zone.
Despite a nationwide slowdown in foreign trade, Nanning's foreign trade volume reached 36.45 billion yuan ($5.29 billion) in 2015, increasing 23 percent from the previous year.
Because of its good environment, unique landscapes, colorful ethnic cultures and excellent infrastructure, Nanning is becoming a favored tourist destination in Guangxi.
The city is among the first national-level "ecologically-friendly garden cities" and was selected to host the 12th China International Garden Expo in 2018.
With increasing offerings to tourists, including sightseeing, ecotours, historical and cultural tours, rural tours and trips for science research, the city's tourism administration predicts there will be 92 million visitors to Nanning in 2016, a growth of 12.3 percent from 2015.
In the years to come, the city's authorities said more effort will be made to further upgrade local industries, deepen opening-up, improve the living environment, promote institutional and economic reforms, improve government administration under the principle of rule of law and improve people's quality of life.
zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily 12/01/2016 page12)
