Guangxi is promoting high-level reform and opening-up through the construction of a free trade zone.

Guangxi is leveraging the construction of a free trade zone to promote high-level reform and opening-up.

Those who set a good example in their actions will succeed in all undertakings; those who skillfully grasp the trends can look forward to favorable opportunities. The State Council has approved the "Overall Plan for the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone." The land of Bagui is filled with jubilation, and the sons and daughters of the Zhuang ethnic group are expressing their joy in various ways.

Opening up brings new opportunities, and cooperation fosters new development. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that accelerating the implementation of the free trade zone strategy is an objective requirement for adapting to new trends in economic globalization, an inevitable choice for comprehensively deepening reform and building a new open economic system, and also an important means for our country to proactively manage foreign relations and achieve its strategic goals in foreign affairs. The establishment of the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone (hereinafter referred to as the FTZ) is a major decision made by the Party Central Committee and the State Council. It is a strategic move to advance Guangxi’s reform and opening-up in the new era, and also a glorious mission for Guangxi to proactively serve and integrate into major national strategies and better support the overall strategic layout of opening up to the outside world.

Guangxi, with its coastal, border, and riverine locations, is the only province or autonomous region in China that shares both land borders and maritime channels with ASEAN countries, giving it unparalleled geographical advantages. General Secretary Xi Jinping has entrusted Guangxi with a new mission—“three major orientations”—and explicitly stated: “Guangxi’s development potential lies in opening up, and its sustained momentum also stems from openness. It is well-positioned to play an even greater role in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative.” This reflects General Secretary Xi Jinping’s far-sighted vision and earnest expectations for Guangxi’s development, viewed from the broader context of global development trends and the nation’s overall development strategy. To effectively implement this new mission of “three major orientations,” the most fundamental step is to further enhance our level of opening up to the outside world and strive to make good use of the strategic chessboard of open and inclusive development.

Since the end of last year, the state has successively issued the "Overall Plan for Building Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region into an Open Financial Gateway Facing ASEAN" and the "Overall Plan for the New Western Land-Sea Corridor." Now, it has also approved the establishment of a pilot free trade zone in our region. This fully demonstrates the high importance that the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core attaches to Guangxi’s work and its earnest expectations for Guangxi’s open development. It also signifies that Guangxi is entering a new round of heightened openness—a milestone moment in Guangxi’s reform and opening-up journey.

Building the pilot free trade zones is a grand strategic move—one that requires not only careful planning at the micro level but also a keen grasp of the broader strategic landscape. We must seize this historic opportunity firmly, following General Secretary Xi Jinping’s call to “dare to explore boldly, dare to experiment boldly, and independently carry out reforms.” We should further liberate our minds, promote reform and innovation, forge ahead with vigor, and courageously break new ground. We must fully implement the central government’s requirements for establishing a new strategic fulcrum for open development in the southwest, central-south, and northwest regions. Leveraging Guangxi’s unique geographical advantages—its land and sea borders with ASEAN countries—we must focus on building a new international land-and-sea trade corridor that serves as a gateway to the world from the southwest, central-south, and northwest regions, and is oriented toward ASEAN. We should accelerate the formation of an important gateway that seamlessly connects the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road with the Silk Road Economic Belt, and wholeheartedly construct a new pattern of all-round opening-up characterized by “southward orientation, northward connectivity, eastward integration, and westward cooperation.”

“Opportunities are as elusive as divine spirits—hard to come by yet easy to lose.” We must adhere to a combination of “bringing in” and “going out,” uphold institutional innovation as the core, and take replicability and scalability as fundamental requirements. We should benchmark against internationally advanced rules and take the lead in piloting and boldly innovating in areas such as cross-border trade, logistics, finance, e-commerce, tourism, labor cooperation, and trade facilitation. We must accelerate the improvement of our foreign investment systems and policies, explore more innovative institutional outcomes, and better leverage the role of pilot free trade zones in promoting trade and investment. This will drive transformative changes in the quality, efficiency, and growth drivers of our economy, and strive to build the pilot free trade zones into high-standard, high-quality free trade parks that offer convenient trade and investment, sophisticated financial services, safe and efficient regulation, prominent radiating and driving effects, and serve as a leading platform for China-ASEAN open cooperation. By doing so, we will inject new momentum, add fresh vitality, and expand new horizons for the development of our region, contributing our wisdom and strength to the new journey of China’s reform and opening-up in the new era.