By+Deng+Yaqing

As the only region sharing both maritime and land borders with Southeast Asian countries ， south Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has come to the forefront of the countrys opening up to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations （ASEAN）.

ASEAN has been Guangxis largest trade partner for 14 years. According to local customs， Guangxis trade with ASEAN countries reached $15.9 billion in 2013.

Facing the Beibu Gulf in the south， Guangxi is also home to the Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation Forum， an emerging sub-regional platform under the China-ASEAN cooperation framework.

Held in Nanning， capital of Guangxi， on May 15， the eighth forum attracted more than 500 government officials， scholars and entrepreneurs from both home and the ASEAN nations to express their views on the theme of promoting Pan-Beibu Gulf cooperation. The first session of the forum was convened on July 20， 2006， at which the Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation Zone， covering China and ASEAN countries， was constructed to expand and deepen ChinaASEAN strategic partnership.

In the past two decades， China has grown into ASEANs largest trade partner. In 2013， bilateral trade reached $443.61 billion， six-fold as much as that in 2003， signifying the release of huge market potentials.

Jiang Zhenghua， former Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National Peoples Congress， said at the forum that PanBeibu Gulf economic cooperation will serve the urgent need to improve the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.

“Now， the world economic pattern is going through profound and complicated changes， while the Asia-Pacific region is playing an increasingly significant role in economic development. Interconnected by the sea， countries all over the world are conducting closer exchanges in terms of trade， technology and information. Without a doubt， a new era of marine cooperation and development has arrived，” said Jiang.

Areas of cooperation

One challenge ASEAN countries face is the lack of financing channels for infrastructure construction. At the forum， experts unanimously called for the establishment of a new financing mechanism to mobilize resources.

Xue Hong， Vice President of the Guangdong Branch of the Export-Import Bank of China， held that a financial system for infrastructure investment in the China-ASEAN region will push the development of harbor industries and the marine economy and then elevate the core competitiveness of related countries.

In ASEAN， non-bank financing activities are rare. Since the breakout of the Asian financial crisis in 1997， there has been no regional financial framework. The huge infrastructure investment will provide a favorable environment for securities issuance， noted Tan Khee Giap， a professor from the University of Singapore.

Tan said if China takes a lead in setting up the planned Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank， ASEAN countries will have its financing gap narrowed with long-term， lowcost funds.

In addition to financial cooperation， focus should also be laid on port and logistical partnership. Wang Zhixian， Deputy General Manager of China Merchants Holdings （International） Co.， suggested that the region， with rapid economic growth， is in urgent need of a more efficient logistical and transportation network.

“Geographical adjacency， interconnected highways， railways and harbors will greatly reinforce the cooperative mechanism between China and Viet Nam，” said Nguyen Hong Truong， Viet Nams Vice Minister of Communications.

Nguyen also noted that an array of interconnected highways is under construction or finished and more airlines and a new railway transportation agreement will be opened and signed between the two countries to further facilitate cross-border traveling and transportation.

To achieve win-win results， China needs to propel the construction and manufacture of maritime apparatus and infrastructure such as containers and shipping lanes in the 47 port cities in the China-ASEAN region， so as to improve the technological transportation system and traffic capacity， said Li Xinyuan， Mayor of Qinzhou， a port city in Guangxi.

Sino-Vietnamese challenge

China has been Viet Nams most important economic partner and fourth largest export destination.

However， the recent violent attacks against Chinese enterprises and staff in Viet Nam will certainly damage the healthy development of China-Viet Nam trade and will also be detrimental to the Vietnamese economy.

By the end of March 2014， China had invested in 1，008 projects with a total registered capital of $7.6 billion， said Viet Nams Vice Minister of Communications at the forum.

Chinese investments in Viet Nam are quite competitive in the household appliance， telecommunications， texture and clothing industries， said Hu Yifan， chief economist at Haitong Securities.

Apparently， the recent unrest has aroused public concerns over investment security in Viet Nam.