Border town offers a gateway for commerce

Benefiting from the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, Jiegao, a small border town in southwestern China's Yunnan province, is poised to rise not only as a vital gateway between the two countries, but also an important location for the greater Southeast Asia region.

With an area of just 2 square kilometers, Jiegao, which means "old city" in the language of the Dai ethnic group, is adjacent to Muse in Myanmar. Separated by the Ruili River from the major part of Ruili city, the peninsula-like zone makes it possible for it to enjoy special policies, and become a growth engine for the local economy.

In 2000, it became China's first Special Export Processing Zone. Also known as a policy of "within the border but beyond the customs", it allows all goods in the processing zone, namely Jiegao, to be eligible for duty free trade, among other export and import preferential conditions.