Vietnamese products are on sale at the cross-border bonded goods purchasing center of the Chongzuo area of the Guangxi FTZ. [Photo by Hu Ruiyang/gxnews.com.cn]

The establishment of the Chongzuo area of the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone has brought new opportunities for the high-level opening-up and the high-quality development of Pingxiang by focusing on the five cross-border industries of trade, logistics, finance, tourism, and labor cooperation.

Ports, borders, passages, and industrial foundations provide Pingxiang with strong "hardware" conditions, while advantages such as rapid customs clearance underline the city's "soft power." In the future, Piangxiang, the main part of the Chongzuo area of the Guangxi FTZ, will make efforts to develop cross-border industries.

The Chongzuo area will promote cross-border trade by exploring innovative trade methods, accelerating the development, transformation, and upgrading of small-scale trade on the border, facilitating the management of border trade, as well as fostering new trade formats and new models.

The area will take advantage of Pingxiang's role as the main land route in the western Land-Sea Trade Corridor connecting ASEAN countries to promote the extension of China-Vietnam direct trains to the important node cities in West China, increase the China-Indochina Peninsula cross-border freight trains, as well as promote mutual recognition of cross-border transportation vehicle licenses.

It will deepen financial reforms focusing on the cross-regional use of RMB in ASEAN countries,  as well as promote financial institutions to provide one-stop financial services for migrant workers from Vietnam in salary distribution, currency exchange, and fund transfer. It will also focus on cross-border settlement and the normalization of clearing business.

In terms of cross-border tourism, the Chongzuo area will focus on facilitating the customs clearance of people and vehicles, further simplifying the procedures for cross-border self-driving tour vehicles at Youyi Port and vigorously developing China-ASEAN cross-border self-driving tours. In addition, the Chongzuo area will strive to extend the stay period of foreign workers, as well as promote the handling of medical examinations, permits, and insurance.