Guangxi Governor Visits ASEAN Secretariat

2010-06-21

The coming-into-effect of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area agreement has played an important role in expanding the cooperation between ASEAN and Guangxi Province, says the Governor of China’s Guangxi Province, H.E. Mr Ma Biao, who visited the ASEAN Secretariat today. Governor Ma, who was accompanied by a delegation of state officials from the Guangxi provincial offices, said a celebration was held in the provincial capital Nanning on 7-8 January 2010 to commemorate ACFTA, as it avails 7,000 products to duty exemption.

According to the Governor, Guangxi’s foreign trade increased by 7.3% last year, with a GDP growth of 13.9%. He added that ASEAN and Guangxi already have a solid foundation and the province is becoming a window for ASEAN-China cooperation, particularly in transportation, communication and logistics.

Governor Ma said Guangxi Province has a special relationship with ASEAN because the China-ASEAN Expo has been held in Nanning every year since 2004, which has become a platform for ASEAN and the Chinese provinces to forge closer economic ties. This year, the China-ASEAN Expo will be held from 20-24 October 2010. He also expressed his hope that ASEAN and China will also cooperate in education, science, and sports. He also invited the ASEAN Secretariat to support the China-ASEAN Business Circle Leaders Forum later this year.

In receiving Governor Ma, the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs, Bagas Hapsoro, said that “ASEAN Member States have been the largest trade partner of Guangxi for ten consecutive years. Guangxi’s trade with ASEAN was US$ 3.9 billion in 2008. In the first half of 2009, the bilateral trade reached US$ 2.21 billion – a 90.4% increase year-on-year.” Guangxi’s major trade partners are Thailand and Viet Nam and the most popular trading mode remained cross-border trade, he added.

Governor Mao’s courtesy call to the ASEAN Secretariat was part of his three-day visit to Indonesia.