The forth work conference of the China-ASEAN Port Cites Cooperation Network is held in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Sept 21 to explore measures to expand the port cities cooperation network of China and ASEAN countries, as well as construct the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

To date, the number of members of the cooperative network has grown to 30, covering the main port institutions of China and ASEAN countries, with nine new members set to be added at the meeting. The cooperation network has made great achievements since it was established in 2013.

Guangxi has built relevant service facilities for the China-ASEAN Port City Cooperation Network in Qinzhou, including water training bases, marine meteorological monitoring, and early warning centers, as well as maritime search and rescue sub-centers.

A number of mutual investment and cooperation projects with ASEAN countries have made breakthroughs. Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group and Singapore International Port Group (PSA) have established the Beibu Gulf International Container Terminal Company and operate and manage Qinzhou Port Terminal together. Beibu Gulf Port has also successfully invested in Kuantan Port of Malaysia and Muara Port of Burnei.

A total of 15 direct shipping routes between Beibu Gulf ports and ASEAN countries have been opened, covering 14 ports in Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Myanmar. A route to Africa was opened in August, with routes to England and Holland also expected to open this year. In addition, the sea-rail trains from Beibu Gulf Port to Hong Kong and Singapore have reached six shifts and two shifts per week respectively.

Cooperation with industrial parks relying on ports is also strengthening. Currently, the China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park has completed infrastructure construction and has introduced more than 325 enterprises and 139 production projects, with a total investment of more than 116 billion yuan ($16.35 billion). The construction of the first phase of the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park has basically been completed, and the steel project, which has an annual output of 3.5 million tons, was commissioned and produced in June 2018. The Smart Park of China-Singapore Nanning International Logistics Park was put into trial operation on Sept 19, 2019.

In addition, the China-ASEAN Port Logistics Information Center has been successfully connected to 23 ports in China, East Asia, Europe, and ASEAN, accessing ship tracking data and container data information, realizing initial logistics information sharing between China and ASEAN countries.

The 2019 China-ASEAN Port Cities Cooperation Network Work Conference is held on Sept 21. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]