The coastal city of Zhanjiang, Guangdong province has vowed to further expand its economic cooperation with nations and regions along the ancient Maritime Silk Road as the country advances its Belt and Road Initiative in the coming years.

According to the city's bureau of commerce, Zhanjiang has been an important foreign trade port in the country since ancient times, and expansion of cooperation with the nations and regions along the ancient Maritime Silk Road could become a new growth area for the city in the future.

To strengthen economic ties with foreign countries and regions, the city's authorities have urged relevant departments to develop the China Marine Economy Expo and the China International Aquatic Products Exposition into major platforms for expanding Zhanjiang's ties with the rest of the world.

The two events, taking place annually in Zhanjiang, have become important channels to help local companies to expand their cooperation with foreign partners. Special seminars and lectures will be held to boost Sino-foreign cooperation during the two events.

Zhanjiang is expecting to focus on its cooperation in the fields of marine industries, science and technology, agriculture, medicine, electronics, shipping and information technology, authorities said.

Zhanjiang has a long history of working with the outside world and has established closer economic relations with the rest of the world in the past years.

Companies from four nations along the ancient Maritime Silk Road have established eight projects in Zhanjiang, with six of them already operational.

Cambodia, Indonesia and Egypt have become the top three nations for Zhanjiang's outbound investment.

Last year alone, six companies from Zhanjiang signed contracts totaling $472 million to build production facilities abroad.

Despite a slowdown in foreign trade due to unfavorable global market conditions, Zhanjiang's imports and exports with Maritime Silk Road regions enjoyed steady growth last year.

According to statistics from Zhanjiang Customs, Zhanjiang's foreign trade with nations and regions along the Maritime Silk Road reached 9.04 billion yuan ($1.31 billion) last year, up 6.1 percent from 2015.

Zhanjiang's exports to the nations and regions along the trade route enjoyed double-digit growth at 17.9 percent to reach more than 7.79 billion yuan in 2016, playing an important role in the city's economic development.

Zhanjiang's foreign trade with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations reached more than 5.21 billion yuan in 2016, growing 5.5 percent year-on-year. This accounted for 57.7 percent of the city's total import and export volume with nations and regions along the Maritime Silk Road.

Zhanjiang's exports to ASEAN amounted to 4.12 billion yuan, up 26.9 percent year-on-year.

Singapore, Vietnam and India have become Zhanjiang's top three foreign trade partners among the Maritime Silk Road nations.

(China Daily 05/15/2017 page30)