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MOTOR vehicle temporary entry administration began in Chongzuo City on November 20, 2007. On that day, 100 Vietnamese motor vehicles bearing temporary license plates issued by the Chinese transport department entered Chongzuo. They were allowed a free run of the city, in line with the relevant regulations of the Peoples Republic of China.

Administrators of frontier cities have long wished to offer temporary entry services to transnational motor vehicles. Chongzuo, a new city bordering Vietnam established in August 2003, is the first frontier city in China to provide this convenience of access. In so doing it has made a substantial contribution to construction of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone.

“Chongzuo is at the frontline of Western Development, Sino-ASEAN trade and Sino-Vietnam trade. Establishing thetemporary entry administration of motor vehicles from Vietnam is a major step towards establishing barrier-free traffic within the China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone. It also signals a new stage in transnational regional cooperation in Chongzuo,” says Luo Dianlong, Secretary of the CPC Chongzuo Municipal Committee, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with evident satisfaction.

“Vietnam on the Doorstep, ASEAN a Few Steps Away”

China and ASEAN reached agreement on the inauguration of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone on November 4, 2002. It was a move that brought undreamt of development opportunities to Guangxis frontier areas. The central authorities rescinded Nanning Prefecture (under whose jurisdiction Chongzuo fell) on December 23 of the same year, and established Chongzuo City at the prefectural level. Its aim was to take advantage of Chongzuos location between the Guangxi regional capital of Nanning and the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. A dynamic framework of a central city on Chinas southern frontier, that will take the lead in development in the border areas, has hence been created.

Chongzuo has obvious geographical advantages. The citys Ningming, Longzhou and Daxin counties and Pingxiang City constitute 533 kilometers of borderline in the middle section of the 1,000-km east-west land border between Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Vietnam. Along this section are three category-I ports, four category-II ports, and 13 border trade spots. Nanning is 100 kilometers north of Chongzuo, and Hanoi is 260 kilometers to its south.

Chongzuo, moreover, is at the center of the South China, Southwest China and ASEAN Economic Circles, and is a node on the Nanning-Chongzuo-Pingxiang-Lang Son-Hanoi Economic Corridor as well as the Nanning-Singapore Economic Corridor. Apart from its enviable geographical advantage of a long border, Chongzuo also has proximity to rivers and railways that link seaports, capitals, and ASEAN.

“Chongzuo is close to both the coastline and the borderline,” Luo Dianlong points out. “Vietnam is practically on our doorstep, and ASEAN is just a few steps away. Chongzuo provides the shortest land route linking China with ASEAN. This is an inestimable advantage, as it makes Chongzuo the potential regional communications hub linking regional cooperation programs such as the Nanning-Singapore Economic Corridor, the Greater Mekong sub-regional cooperation, and the Pan-Beibu Gulf economic cooperation,” Luo concludes. Construction of the Chongzuo-Qinzhou Expressway has been approved by the Ministry of Communication, and will start later in 2008. When complete, the distance between Chongzuo and the coastline will have been shortened to 123 kilometers.

Concerted Efforts

Luo Dianlong headed the first group of municipal cadres and staff members to Chongzuo soon after the decision to build it into a city on the basis of Chongzuo County. At that time it was a small area lacking basic facilities, which meant the newly transferred cadres had to start from scratch. As there were neither canteen nor dormitories, they had to rent accommodation from local inhabitants and cook for themselves. The water and power supplies were, at best, inadequate. Air conditioning of any description in this semi-tropical region was out of the question, andtoilets were a shared luxury. The absence of transport also necessitated getting about on foot.

After four years of concerted efforts, Luo Dianlongs team achieved its aim of building a new city on the basis of a county seat. Chongzuo City as a whole covers 55 square kilometers. Chengnan New District, with its 200 multi-story buildings and 13 modern thoroughfares, has an area of 13 square kilometers. Luo Dianlongs team also built a modern power grid and the Daxin 500-kv transformation station, the highest voltage transformation station in Guangxi, at a total cost of RMB 2.4 billion.

Chongzuo has formed a “one-hour” transport circle radiating from its urban area, linking it to the border and coastline, regional capital and various cities and counties. Chongzuo has organized industrial zones with rationally designated functions along the Nanning-Youyiguan Expressway, its feed ways and also in border ports. Its emphasis is on perfecting planning of the Chongzuo City Industrial Zone, the Sino-Vietnam (Pingxiang) Border Economic Cooperation Zone and the Fusui China-ASEAN Youth Industrial Park, and on accelerating their construction.

“As the Zhuang saying goes, ‘Each of nine oxen does its utmost to climb a slope. This bustling new city that used to be so still and silent has been created through our concerted efforts,” LuoDianlong states.

Resource Advantages

Chongzuo City is rich in mineral, agricultural and tourism resources. Its sugarcane-growing area is the largest nationwide, and its reserves of manganese and bentonite are the largest worldwide. “Manganese production and sugar making are currently our pillar industries, and contribute greatly to the citys economic development. But we cannot realize sustainable development by relying on the initial resource processing. Chongzuo City is consequently upgrading its manganese production and sugar making, conducting deep processing and prolonging the industrial chain, in the cyclical economic mode,” Luo Dianlong explains.

As Chongzuos geographical advantages are as important as its resources, the city makes optimum use of both whilst developing its thoroughfare economy. In this way Chongzuo strengthens its pillar industries and advantageous industries of building materials, agricultural processing and forestry, as well as power, border trade and tourism. To this end, Chongzuo has accelerated construction of a border processing trade zone, based on local characteristic industries. This will prolong the industrial chain and expand imports and exports. In the four years since its establishment, Chongzuo Citys foreign trade volume has hit US $1.083 billion. Its total exports during the period 2003 to 2005 ranked first in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and its border trade transactions totaled RMB 10 billion.

A Good Investment

Environment

“An advantageous location, convenient communications and characteristic industries are the foundation stones of Chongzuos future development. Our top priority in the process of realizing docking in ASEAN and the Beibu Gulf is to optimize the administrative, ecological and urban environment in an overall way,” Luo Dianlong confirms.

Chongzuo City has gone all out to create a good investment environment and further improve its service functions. It has invested in infrastructure, such as road and city construction, and upgraded water supply pipelines in the old urban areas. It has also spent almost RMB 80 million on changing its urban and rural outlooks. On the environmental front, Chongzuo City has actively promoted tree planting, and prohibited livestock grazing and fuel gathering on hillsides in order to promote afforestation. It has, to date, restored 44,000 hectares of farmland to forest.

Chongzuo is also intent upon improving its “soft” environment. The city has, in the wake of acceleration of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone and Pan-Beibu Gulf regional economic cooperation programs, become a thoroughfare for the flow of human resources, motor vehicles, material and capital to ASEAN. This creates even greater pressure on the Chongzuo Party and government departments to maintain stability. To this end, they are conducting transnational joint defense in order to effectively maintain border peace and social stability. Chongzuo has been named an advanced city in comprehensive management of social security for several years in succession. From 2001 to 2004 it was designated “national advanced prefectural-level city in public order and social security.” It is one of the three cities in Guangxi to be awarded this honor.

Luo Dianlong confirms that Chongzuo is continuing to improve its investment environment. In order to achieve greater efficiency, the city has set up an accountability system, and also reformed its system of administrativeexaminations.