Chinanews, Nanning, Jan. 25 – In China’s coastal regions, most economic activities are centered around three economic regions, the Pearl River Delta region, the Yangtze River delta region, and the Circum-Bohai Economic Ring. Compared with these regions, economic activities in the Beibu Bay, which also lies near the coastal region in southwest China, are relatively backward.
Now China aims to boost the economic development in the Beibu Bay. From January 18 to 20, the People's Daily, China's leading official newspaper, carried articles on its front page about economic opportunities open to the area. The China Central Television (CCTV) also gave wide coverage to the Beibu Bay. From January 17, CCTV’s prime time program reported about the region for a couple of days. Most other Chinese mainstream media also published a series of reports about it.
By promoting the Beibu Bay economic region, senior Chinese officials not only aim to promote its regional economic development, but also hope that economic development in the Beibu Bay will lay a solid foundation for economic cooperation with its surrounding areas. So it can achieve double results with one move, like what the Chinese idiom describes, “to kill two birds with one arrow.” The economic prosperity of the Beibu Bay is expected to strengthen the sub-regional economic cooperation in the area.
Many people notice that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao suggested China and leaders from ASEAN countries discuss about the feasibility of economic cooperation in the Beibu Bay area when he attended both the Third China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit and the Tenth Conference between China and ASEAN Leaders. He raised the issue twice in less than three months' time.
It is obvious that promoting economic development in the Beibu Bay is closely linked with China’s West Development Strategy. When the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta regions have made great contributions to China’s economic development, Chinese leaders now focus their attention on the economic development in the Beibu Bay, hoping that economic development there will boost the economic development of the entire southwest region.
Premier Wen Jiabao once said that boosting economic cooperation in the Pan-Beibu Bay region is a strategic issue. He said that as the core area in the Beibu Bay, Guangxi should be built as the regional logistic base, the trade base, the processing and manufacturing center and the information exchange center between China and ASEAN, so that the opening-up and economic development of the southwest China region in general and Guangxi in particular will be pushed forward.
China’s Eleventh Five-Year Program for Western Development has placed the Beibu Bay (Guangxi) economic zone as one of the three economic development zones in the west where economy will be first developed. With this move, China hopes that economic development in Guangxi will promote the economic development in the whole southwest China region.
When talking about the Beibu Bay economic development, Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan once said that if China can successfully promote the economy in the Beibu Bay area, China will then have four economic zones in the coastal area, which will be complete in that they will not only include economy in the mainland, but also link mainland’s economy with the economy across the Taiwan Strait.
