In the wake of ongoing trade tensions, China has intensified efforts to diversify its economic partnerships, with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( Asean ) emerging as a critical ally.

Escalating tariffs and supply chain disruptions between China and Western economies have prompted the Asian giant to explore other avenues of regional cooperation. The implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership ( RCEP ) and the development of the China-Asean Free Trade Area ( Cafta ) 3.0 have provided robust frameworks for deepening regional integration. Guangxi, China’s only province with both land and sea connections to Asean, has become a pivotal hub for cross-border trade against this backdrop.

In the first seven months of 2025, Guangxi’s foreign trade surged to 453.53 billion yuan ( US$63.24 billion ), marking a 13.5% increase from the same period a year earlier, according to government data. Notably, trade with Asean reached 242.32 billion yuan, up 13.1%, with Indonesia standing out as a high-growth partner as bilateral trade grew 64.7% to 18 billion yuan.

Asean has maintained its position as Guangxi’s largest trading partner for 25 consecutive years, with Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam being the major growth drivers.

As of April, nearly 500 non-financial enterprises investing in Asean have registered in Guangxi, with actual investments exceeding US$260 million. Meanwhile, over 800 enterprises from Asean countries have established a presence in the Chinese autonomous region, with investments totalling US$1.85 billion.

Cross-border industrial chains

To further solidify its role as a regional trade hub, Guangxi has prioritized five major cross-border industrial chains: electronics, textiles, new chemical materials, machinery, and new energy vehicles.

At the recent China Industrial Transfer and Development Conference in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, Guangxi secured 296 supply chain transfer projects worth 217.3 billion yuan, underscoring its growing appeal as a manufacturing and export base.

Infrastructure and financial innovations have further enhanced connectivity. Guangxi has launched a “single-consignment” cross-border logistics model between China and Vietnam, established China’s first Vietnamese dong cash transfer centre, and completed China’s first yuan-denominated offshore soyabean spot transactions.

The seventh round of Cafta 3.0 negotiations has advanced discussions on digital trade and supply chain resilience. The country aims to deepen industrial integration with Asean through initiatives like the China-Asean AI Innovation Cooperation Centre, which recently expanded with a dedicated platform for collaboration on artificial intelligence with Laos.

Guangxi is also positioning itself as a “data circulation hub” for Asean, leveraging its 12 cross-border cables and 9,000-gigabyte international data transmission capacity to facilitate e-commerce, fintech, and digital services.