The new route connecting west China and Southeast Asia has given a
strong impetus to bilateral trade between the two regions.
Liu Fangmin, reputed as the "King of Shoes" in western China, has
enlarged his sales market to the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) recently thanks to the opening of the new
route.
"The newly-built Neijiang-Kunming Railway and the outlet to the sea
in southwestern China have become the shortcut for my shoes to be
transported to Southeast Asia," said Liu.
The 872-kilometer Neijiang-Kunming Rail Line connects west China's
Sichuan Province to southwestern Yunnan Province. It is a key route
linking Guizhou and Sichuan provinces, Chongqing Municipality and
the capital city of Kunming in Yunnan Province.
Meanwhile, the newly-built highway to the sea in southwest China is
more than 1,700 km long. Beginning in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan
Province and ending in the coastal city of Beihai in Guangxi Zhuang
Autonomous Region, the new route has cut the formerly one-week
journey to about 20 hours.
The road and railway construction, too, has facilitated transport
from west China to the Mekong Delta.
"It costs much less now to ship my products from the city of
Neijiang to southeast Asia," said Liu, whose factory sells more
than one million pairs of shoes to Vietnam every year. In the past,
Liu said, the traditional route to Southeast Asia was through
Shanghai, which is much more expensive.
The area along the upper reaches of the Yangtze has 12 big and
medium-sized cities, including Chengdu, Chongqing and Mianyang,
with a total population of 60 million. It is an area of utmost
importance for trade between China and ASEAN.
The volume of bilateral trade between China and ASEAN rose sharply
in recent years. But most of the increase goes to the developed
areas of the Yangtze and Pearl River deltas and the trade between
west China and ASEAN still needs to be further developed.
The export volume of Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality to
the ASEAN was respectively US$345 million and US$336 million last
year, much less than the export volume of Shanghai to the region in
the first half of 2002 alone, which stood at US$1.346 billion.
To
set up a free trade area between China and ASEAN would benefit both
western China and the Mekong River area, said Li Hong, an expert on
Southeast Asia affairs in Guangxi University.
(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2003)