Compared with other countries that have established free trade areas with ASEAN, China owns millions of unique advantages. Millions, after all, is the quantity of Chinese living in ASEAN countries.

“With ties of blood, geography and commerce, business people of Chinese descent can be the best candidates to promote Chinese investment in ASEAN,” said Alim Markus, President of Maspion Group from Indonesia.

Markus’ group has invested 1.5 billion yuan setting up an Indonesian Industrial Park in the China-ASEAN Economic Zone located in Nanning, capital city of China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. In the economic zone, parks named after Southeast Asian countries and set up by overseas Chinese business people there, such as Singaporean Industrial Park, are more and more popular among investors.

Established in December 2003, the China-ASEAN Economic Zone is 36 kilometers from Nanning and covers an area of 180 square km with a population of 35,000. Besides hosting investors from home and abroad, it has also settled returned overseas Chinese from nine ASEAN countries like Indonesia and Viet Nam. At present, there are more than 7,000 overseas Chinese that returned and are living in the economic zone. The China-ASEAN Economic Zone hence has become the largest and most concentrated compact community of returned overseas Chinese in China.

In ASEAN, there are more than 20 million overseas Chinese and listed companies held by them account for 70 percent of the total listed companies in the stock markets in Southeast Asia. Overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia serve as important promoters of economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN.

From the First China-ASEAN Expo held in 2004 to the end of August this year, the economic zone has attracted 100 companies investing there with commitment of nearly 6 billion yuan. The paid-in capital from domestic investors amounted to 2.38 billion yuan and that from foreign countries stood at $36 million. More than 50 percent of companies are in industrial sectors such as paper-making, pharmaceuticals, personal sanitary products, mechanics and processing of agricultural and sideline products, 19 are engaged in agriculture and 15 are in other sectors.

Since 2006, 20 new projects went to the economic zone with commitment of 1.36 billion yuan, said Wei Zhipeng, Director of the Administrative Committee of the China-ASEAN Economic Zone.

According to the long-range planning, the economic zone will contain three areas of industrial production, modern agriculture and tourism, covering 80 square km, 30 square km and 20 square km, respectively. By the end of 2010, population of the economic zone will reach 200,000 and by 2020, the figure will rise to 500,000.

Besides investors from ASEAN, the economic zone is also attracting overseas Chinese from other countries and regions. Guangxi Wande Pharmacy Co. Ltd., with total investment of 370 million yuan by Canadian Chinese, is the largest company funded by overseas Chinese in the economic zone. But Guangxi Guangyi Pharmacy Co. Ltd., funded by American Chinese, plans to invest 1 billion yuan in setting up a pharmacy expo park in the China-ASEAN Economic Zone.

Advantages

Located at the juncture of three economic areas, namely, ASEAN, the Pan Pearl Delta and Greater Southeast China, the China-ASEAN Economic Zone has convenient transportation facilities. With highways directly to Chongqing, Zhanjiang of Guangdong Province and Nanning passing through it, the economic zone is easily connected with all cities in Guangxi as well as Hong Kong, Macao and cities all over the country via highways surrounding Nanning. It takes only two hours to reach the Beihai Port in Guangxi. Moreover, the economic zone is also connected with the frontier between China and Viet Nam and other ASEAN countries. All these provide a large market for regional economic cooperation, industrial development and logistics.

The economic zone is also making efforts to improve the investment environment. More than 500 million yuan has been put into infrastructure construction. Another 900 million yuan is slated to be used in 45 infrastructure projects, including roads, drainage pipelines, electricity facilities and communications networks. At present, the economic zone is well equipped with networks of roads, water, electricity and telecommunications for investors to set up their factories. Moreover, supporting facilities in the economic zone, such as finance, insurance, shopping, schools and hospitals have been improving.

The administrative committee of the economic zone is striving to create a relaxed soft investment environment for investors, providing non-stop and follow-through services during the setup of factories. Before making the decision of investment location in China, Zhou Guoping, General Manager of Guangxi Wande Pharmacy Co. Ltd., had investigated many other Chinese cities, but still decided to locate the company in the China-ASEAN Economic Zone.

“Besides the unique humanistic environment and land resources, what attracts us more is service the economic zone provides,” said Zhou.

Liang Ningsheng, Vice General Manager of Guangxi Guangming Pharmacy Co. Ltd., feels similarly.

“Besides good production conditions and abundant raw materials, the good investment environment is another reason for us to invest here,” he said. During the year since he began to work in the economic zone, he has been deeply impressed by the rapid development of the economic zone and the high quality of various services.

“The relaxed soft investment environment and improved infrastructure are making investors more confident,” Liang added.

Opportunities

Since the China-ASEAN Expo is held every year in Nanning, it brings huge opportunities to the China-ASEAN Economic Zone. With speedy establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, the economic zone is playing a more and more important role as a permanent platform of the expo.

The governments of China and Viet Nam have agreed to construct an “economic corridor” between the two countries, starting from Nanning. At the same time, Guangxi is actively participating in the regional economic cooperation in the Greater Mekong River Valley, expanding space for future development of the China-ASEAN Economic Zone.

Furthermore, Nanning is strengthening its cooperation with the Pan Pearl River Delta, obtaining closer economic relations with Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. As an emerging industrial satellite town of Nanning, the China-ASEAN Economic Zone will become an important destination for developed coastal areas in east and southeast China.