China Positions Guangxi as Gateway for ASEAN to the Bamboo Curtain Country

Jakarta (ANTARA) - China’s Ambassador to ASEAN, Wang Qing, stated that his country projects the southern province of Guangxi as the gateway for commodity supply chains originating from ASEAN countries.

“We hope to make Guangxi the gateway between China and ASEAN countries and the entry point for supply chains from ASEAN countries,” said Ambassador Wang during a meeting with media and think tanks in Jakarta on Thursday.

He conveyed that this commitment is reflected in Guangxi’s role as the host of the annual “China-ASEAN Expo” (CA Expo). The annual event has been routinely held in Guangxi’s capital, Nanning, since 2004.

Ambassador Wang stated that with Guangxi as the ASEAN gateway, products from ASEAN will first enter that region before being distributed to other areas across China.

Furthermore, he mentioned that China’s newly established 15th Five-Year Development Plan for the period 2026-2030 positions increasing domestic consumption as one of the focuses of national economic development.

In this regard, Wang sees potential for ASEAN to help China boost its domestic consumption by bringing in commodities produced in Southeast Asia for the Chinese market.

Moreover, China and ASEAN currently have a free trade agreement (FTA) that greatly facilitates trade and is expected to help reduce the trade deficit.

“I hope that in the coming years, with the free market agreement we have and with the increase in China’s domestic consumption, we can see a more balanced trade balance between China and ASEAN,” said Ambassador Wang.

It is known that Guangxi is an autonomous region in southern China and shares a direct land border with northern Vietnam, which is an ASEAN member country.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Ambassador to China, Djauhari Oratmangun, when meeting with the Guangxi government delegation on 13 March, referred to Guangxi as an important bridge connecting China with ASEAN.

“The CA Expo has also played a strategic role in supporting the strengthening of ASEAN-China trade cooperation,” he said, adding that the event supports the diversification of ASEAN exports, including Indonesia’s, to China.