Cross-border e-commerce flourishes in Guangxi FTZ

In 2021, the import and export volume of cross-border e-commerce in the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) exceeded 10.15 billion yuan ($1.61 billion), an increase of 259 percent.

The import and export volume of cross-border e-commerce in the Nanning area of the Guangxi FTZ was 7.77 billion yuan, a 2.6-fold year-on-year increase. The cross-border e-commerce import and export volume in the Chongzuo area of the Guangxi FTZ was 2.38 billion yuan, a 10-fold increase year on year.

In 2021, Guangxi's cross-border e-commerce import and export business exceeded 145 million packages, a more than two-fold year-on-year increase, of which cross-border e-commerce exports to ASEAN countries accounted for more than 95 percent of the total.

Part of Guangxi's cross-border e-commerce growth is due to its advantageous location. As a gateway open to ASEAN, Guangxi has traditional trade advantages and channels. ASEAN has been Guangxi's largest trade partner in goods for 20 consecutive years, and has a solid foundation for cross-border e-commerce cooperation.

In recent years, Guangxi has built the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, while a cross-border logistics system to ASEAN has been established. Guangxi also has a multi-department collaborative innovation service system, which solves the problems of bonded cross-border e-commerce online shopping. In addition, the implementation of the RCEP, led by ASEAN, has ushered in more overseas business opportunities for the development of e-commerce in Guangxi.

Guangxi also boasts 11 colleges and universities, including Guangxi University for Nationalities, Guangxi University, and Guangxi University of Foreign Languages, which have opened seven majors in Southeast Asian languages, including Indonesian, Cambodian, Lao, Burmese, Malay, Thai, as well as Vietnamese. In 2021, nearly 5,000 ASEAN students were enrolled in universities in Guangxi.