"Guangxi can serve as a bridge connecting the pan-Pearl River Delta region and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)," said Lu.

Guangxi, now a major thoroughfare to Southeast Asian economic cooperation, has helped create a sound condition for the international economic cooperation in the pan-Pearl River Delta region.

At the economic and trade negotiation meeting held in Hunan Province on June 9-12, business leaders and company representatives from 10 ASEAN countries attended the negotiations and signed many cooperative agreements. Lu explained that many of the ASEAN guests were first introduced through Guangxi.

Le Danh Vinh, Vice Minister of Trade of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, said, "While conducting economic cooperation and trade with the pan-Pearl River Delta region, we place great significance on strong industries that can complement each other and bring stability and breakthroughs in each other's trade growth."

Le added Viet Nam hopes to cooperate with the region in the latter's advantageous sectors, such as tourism, medicinal materials, electronic equipment manufacturing and assembling, hi-tech products and hydroelectric equipment. Viet Nam also hopes to export agricultural and sideline products to the region, including fruits and handicrafts.

Le said they would like to encourage big companies from the pan-Pearl River Delta region to sign long-term trade contracts with Vietnamese companies and to invest in Viet Nam as well.

Aside from ASEAN countries, representatives from the European Union and global top 500 companies like the Wachovia Corp., Shell, LG, Mittal Steel, General Electric, Carrefour and Siemens also attended the meeting and signed cooperative contracts. Altogether 1,254 contractual agreements were signed with a total investment of 337.62 billion yuan.

Thomas Reichenbach, Chief Representative of the German Confederation of Small Business and Skilled Crafts, said the federation had set up a German industrial park in Xiangtan County, Hunan Province, and would invest more in the electromechanical sector in Changsha City, especially in autos, elevators, spare parts and mining equipment.

Koh Chin Yee, Executive Officer of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China, said Singaporean companies can participate in the environmental protection sector by using their advanced technology and equipment. In addition, Singapore's modern transportation projects like subway and airport construction can serve as examples for the pan-Pearl River Delta region.

Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said that Hong Kong can play a unique part in bridging the pan-Pearl River Delta region with the outside world.

Through setting up offices in Hong Kong, he said, the pan-Pearl River Delta region and ASEAN enterprises can effectively network with overseas counterparts, for trade, investment and other forms of cooperation. Hong Kong can provide the best channel for communication and networking between companies of the two regions.

Benefiting the people

Pig sellers from Xiangtan County in Hunan Province are glad to see changes taking place. Years ago, they had to pass through numerous toll booths in Hunan and other provinces in order to sell their pigs.

However, at present, there are special "green channels" in the pan-Pearl River Delta region to transport agricultural products. "Now, it takes only 10 hours to travel from Xiangtan to Dongguan in Guangdong Province to sell the pigs," said a pig seller from Xiangtan.

"Since this regional cooperation was launched, cross-province communication has been gradually opened and the people from this region have benefited enormously," said Luan Chunhui, a reporter with South China News Daily.

Zhang Guangning, Mayor of Guangzhou City, said one of the important aspects in achieving the integrated market in the pan-Pearl River Delta region is to open green channels for agricultural products and to revoke the various tolls for agricultural transportation.

The market integration of the pan-Pearl River Delta region has also provided convenience for tourists. In the past, people traveling with a Guangdong travel agency to Hunan Province had to change their travel agency to a local one after they arrived in Hunan. However, since last year, the travel agencies have begun to attract tourists from other provinces and can open branch offices in other provinces.

Zheng Hong, President of the GZL International Travel Service Ltd., said that after the pan-Pearl River Delta region cooperation was launched, his company immediately organized a group of Guangdong travelers to Hunan, and they got much help from local hotels and transportation and tourism departments. "It was unimaginable before the cooperation was launched," said Zheng.

Investment: In 2007, participants in the pan-Pearl River Delta region cooperation signed 1,254 trade and investment agreements worth 337.62 billion yuan ($44.31 billion). In 2006, a total of 1,019 cooperative agreements were signed worth 198.17 billion yuan ($26 billion). In 2005, the number of agreements signed was 4,473, with total investment reaching 453.5 billion yuan ($59.51 billion). Pan-Pearl River Delta Region Acreage: Approximately 2 million square km Population: 456.98 million 2006 GDP: $635.6 billion ($83.41 billion)