Silk Road trade route to be revived

Silk Road trade route to be revived

Guangxi Qinzhou Free Trade Port Area serves as a cross-docking centre for container ships to and from China. (Photo supplied by Chinease local government)
Guangxi Qinzhou Free Trade Port Area serves as a cross-docking centre for container ships to and from China. (Photo supplied by Chinease local government)

Nanning, Guangxi: China is stepping up efforts to boost its economy following the yuan's sharp fall by reviving its maritime Silk Road trading route with Southeast Asia.

Lv Yusheng, president of the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences, said the government was working on an economic restructuring plan to develop the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region as an industrial and special economic zone. The plan includes its Silk Road initiative, which China hopes will help strengthen its relationship with other Southeast Asian countries.

Guangxi is situated in the southern part of China, bordering Vietnam and facing the Beibu Gulf in the South China Sea. Its strategic location means the region has high potential to be developed as the gateway to Southeast Asian countries, Mr Lv said.

He was speaking in Nanning last week at a seminar entitled "Cultural Interpretations of China: Focus on Guangxi's Construction of One Belt, One Road" held by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the People's Government of Qinzhou, and the Guangxi Branch of China News Service.

The city of Qinzhou in Guangxi is ideally suited as a cargo port, Mr Lv said. Ding Qiwen, division chief of the investment promotion department, Guangxi Qinzhou Free Trade Port Area, said the Qinzhou port serves as a cross-docking centre for container ships to and from China.  

The port sits in the Beibu Gulf and is about 1,338 nautical miles from Singapore, and one and a half hour's drive from Guangxi. It is capable of handling large container ships of 100,000 deadweight tonnage and has a warehouse with 82,000 sq m of storage capacity, Mr Lv said.

There has been a marked increase in trade between Thailand and China, said Sakarn Saensopa, the Thai consul in Nanning. Last year, bilateral trade between the two countries was worth $686.58 million (24.4 billion baht). Thai exports to China were valued at $436 million and Chinese exports to Thailand amounted to $250 million.

Thailand's largest exports to China are tapioca, food additives, fruit, rice and snacks. The highest value Chinese export to Thailand is computer equipment.

China is an important region for Thai businesses, mostly small and medium sized enterprises. Two large Thai companies operate animal feed and sugar cane businesses in Guangxi.

Mr Sakarn said Thai investors would benefit from China's policy of opening up to foreign businesses that want to invest in the country. Cargo ships carrying products from Thailand to Qinzhou can in turn be used to export Chinese goods.

However, a foreign enterprise wanting to invest in China is subject to the Chinese government's policy, and investment procedures can be complicated, Mr Sakarn said. Thai investors should study investment procedures before deciding to invest in the country.

Thailand and China are expected to sign an agreement on maritime transport at the China-Asean Expo next month. Mr Sakarn said the weaker yuan would help boost China's exports and its competitiveness, while China's purchase orders for raw materials from Thailand are expected to increase. 

Pisnu Rienmahasarn, senior director of the China Asean Studies Centre, said the yuan's fall should not be a problem for major Thai exports to China, as they are low-cost raw materials such as rubber and fruit.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT