NANNING/BANGKOK: Hundreds of flat-bed and container trucks were waiting in line in a logistics center at Pingxiang, a Chinese city bordering Vietnam, waiting for customs clearance — a scene signifying the vitality of trade between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members.
“Our logistics facilities have been overloaded due to peak season ahead of the Spring Festival,” said Nong Chaoyong, head of the administration committee of Pingxiang national pilot zone for development and opening-up.
Once they have passed the customs checkpoints, goods from Southeast Asian countries will soon hit the shelves in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, adding to the already impressive momentum of China-ASEAN trade.
In 2020, China and ASEAN for the first time became each other’s largest partners, with bilateral trade up nearly 7 percent, defying the gloomy picture of a pandemic-blighted world.
INTERCONNECTIVITY
Infrastructure connectivity makes Pingxiang in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region a gateway to Southeast Asian countries.
The Pingxiang railway port, which connects the railways of China and Vietnam, has seen freight trains go full steam ahead.
Since its launch in 2017, the China-Vietnam freight train service has transported electronics, diesel engines, glass, cotton yarn and other goods from China to ASEAN countries via Vietnam, while goods from ASEAN countries including fruits and daily necessities have been shipped to China.
As a major land port for fruit trade, Pingxiang serves as the entry point for nearly half of the imported fruits into China.
On Feb. 25, 2020, the first China-Vietnam freight train for fruits was launched, connecting Pingxiang with Dong Dang in northern Vietnam, making fruit transportation easier and less costly.
The city has seen the number of cross-border freight trains surge to 251 last year, with that of inbound fruit trains up to 68, said Jiang Jing, head of the Pingxiang railway station.
Two-way trade between China and Vietnam climbed 18.8 percent last year, with exports to Vietnam rising 16.6 percent, while imports surged 22.2 percent on the previous year.
Their geographical proximity gives China and Southeast Asian countries a natural advantage in trade, while better infrastructure connectivity has further boosted the efficiency of logistics, lowered transportation costs and enhanced regional integration, said Cao Xiaoyang, a researcher with the National Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Construction of major infrastructure projects in the region has picked up again after short-term headwinds from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Kunming-Vientiane railway linking China’s southwest Yunnan Province with Laos, slated to open by the end of this year, will allow trains to travel between the two cities in one day. Other major projects, including the China-Thailand railway, Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway and the Kyaukpyu deep sea port, are also making headway.
With COVID-19 threatening to reverse decades of progress in open borders for trade and investment, China and ASEAN countries are ready for advancing cooperation and integration, helping economies in the region to recover. – Agencies
