Baise, a city in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region bordering Vietnam, received approval to become a new development and opening-up pilot zone by the State Council in March.

At present, Baise has become an important node city connecting the Belt and Road and the western Land-Sea Trade Corridor. The construction of the Baise (Jingxi) Border Economic Cooperation Zone has been accelerated, while the Longbang Border Trade Zone has been completed and been put into operation. The first phase of the China-ASEAN Agricultural Products (Baise) Trading Center has also been completed and put into operation, while the chartered train of Baise has been connected with the China-Europe cross-border train.

From 2015 to 2019, Baise's total annual foreign trade import and export volume increased by about 1.4 times, with an average annual growth of 46.98 percent.

The pilot zone will be built into an important platform for China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to jointly build the Belt and Road Initiative. It will be an important engine driving economic development in neighboring areas, a model area with stable, safe, and prosperous borders, as well as a demonstration area for ecological civilization construction, said Zhou Yijue, deputy to the National People's Congress and mayor of Baise.

Relying on its industrial advantages, Baise will strive to take the lead in the aluminum industry, featured agriculture, as well as tourism and health industries, gradually driving the economic development of related industries and strengthening cooperation with ASEAN countries.