Page 102 - 2021 Special Report
P. 102
Guangxi

The Economy poverty relief. According to government work
reports, there were ongoing major construction
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous projects for highways, railways, seaports and
Region – abbreviated as airports in 2018, in addition to intracity railways in
Gui – is situated to the southwest of China, facing both Nanning and Liuzhou. There were also water
Vietnam across the Beibu Gulf. The province dams, wind turbines, nuclear plants and irrigation
is not only involved in economic development construction projects in order to fully capture the
opportunities in Southern China, but is also natural resources that Guangxi has to offer.
connected to ASEAN countries as well as being
part of the Western Region Development Program. Externally, Guangxi is determined to capitalize
The province has a total area of 237,000 sq km, on its geographic advantage to develop into a
and population of 49.6m in 2019. The Zhuang trade and logistics center, especially serving the
people, the largest minority group in China, China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA). Nanning is
account for around 40% of the total population in the host of the annual China-ASEAN Expo, which
the autonomous region. There are also 11 other highlights China’s market opening for ASEAN
major ethnic groups in the region. products, and China’s outbound investment into
ASEAN. Subsequently, ASEAN members have been
In 2019, Guangxi ranked 19th out of China’s Guangxi's largest trading partners for the past 19
31 provinces by economic size, as accounts for years, as they contributed 49.7% of its foreign trade
2.1% of the national GDP. Its main cities in terms in 2019.
of economic activities include Nanning, Liuzhou,
Guilin, Yulin, and Wuzhou. The primary industry Recent Policies and Reforms
remains a critical part of the economy while
the share of tertiary sectors such as services Regulations of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous
is relatively low when compared to other Region on Optimizing the Business Environment
provinces. Automobile manufacturing, sugar
manufacturing and non-ferrous metal smelting On 19 May 2020, the Standing Committee
and pressing are the three top industries in of the People's Congress of Guangxi Zhuang
terms of industrial output. Autonomous Region issued the “Regulations
of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on
In particular, the automobile industry in Guangxi, O p t i m i z i n g t h e B u s i n e s s E n v i r o n m e n t ”. T h e
based in Liuzhou, is one of the top production regulations stipulate in the general provisions that
centers in China, with hubs for SAIC, FAW, Dongfeng (i) all types of market entities should have equal
and Sinotruk as well as local corporations such as rights, equal opportunities and equal rules, guided
Wuling. Among new, higher value-added industries, by the needs of market entities and centered on
pharmaceuticals have become a special focus in the transformation of government functions, (ii)
Guangxi with its history as a major production base comprehensively deepen the reform of delegating
for Traditional Chinese Medicine. power, regulation and services, and follow the
service philosophy of "Answer every business
Compared to more developed provinces in a n d b o t h e r n o o n e ", ( i i i ) c o n t i n u e t o m a t c h
eastern China, Guangxi continues to benefit international and domestic advanced standards
significantly from investments in government to foster a first-class business environment in
infrastructure, rural area development and

102
   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107