Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is set to develop its traffic infrastructure and forge extensive cooperative ties to cash in on its geographical advantages, a senior official said recently.

"Guangxi, being at the junction of the economic circles of south China, southwest China and China-ASEAN member states, enjoys a unique geographic advantage. The time has come for the region to play a bigger role in China's economic development," said Liu Qibao, party secretary of the autonomous region.

The autonomous region is intensifying efforts to improve its traffic infrastructure, diversify cooperation ties and develop its coastal cities into an economic powerhouse.

Liu said the Ministry of Railways had joined hands with Guangxi to extend and improve train services during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) with an investment of up to 100 billion yuan ($12.82 billion).

After the railway projects are completed, Guangxi will become a pivotal point with easy access to south China and southwest China, as well as the ASEAN member states, he said.

Guangxi's budget for the traffic network, including roads and expressways, has been set at 74.9 billion yuan ($9.60 billion) in the 11th Five-Year Plan. The budget for ports development is 10.2 billion yuan ($1.31 billion) and for inland navigation projects, 4.8 billion yuan (615.38 million), Liu said.

"We cannot use Guangxi's geographical advantages to the full until a well-developed traffic network is in place," he said. "The region will play its strategically irreplaceable role in regional cooperations between China and ASEAN members and between Guangxi and other provinces in the Greater Pearl River Delta region."

He said Guangxi will pursue every opportunity to diversify economic ties, and special attention would be paid to cooperation with the ASEAN members along the three economic belts, which he described as "one axis and two wings".

The "axis", he said, is an international economic belt from Guangxi's capital of Nanning to Singapore via Hanoi in Vietnam, Phnom Penh in Cambodia, Bangkok in Thailand and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

The "two wings" are the fledgling "Greater Mekong Sub-region" to the west of Guangxi and the burgeoning "Pan Beibu Gulf Region" to the east.

"Guangxi pins high hopes on economic cooperations on the Nanning-Singapore economic belt to better develop its logistics and manufacturing industries, as well as to create special markets. It can help develop its harbor industry faster. Also, ocean resources can be developed jointly once Guangxi starts cooperating closely with the Pan Beibu Gulf region."

Guangxi has already begun its campaign to expedite the economic development of its coastal cities, Nanning, Beihai, Qinzhou, Fangchenggang, Chongzuo and Yulin, in the Beibu Gulf region by investing on infrastructure and by coordinating the industrial planning in those cities.

Guangxi aims to have a GDP of 650 billion yuan ($93.33 billion) by 2010, with a per capita GDP of $1,600.

(China Daily January 18, 2007)