A business forum was held in Guangzhou to shed light on new opportunities brought by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and China-Laos Railway on September 1. According to the CCPIT Guangdong, four projects were signed at the forum with an investment volume of 550 million USD.
The event was jointly held by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Guangdong Committee (CCPIT Guangdong) and Consulate General of the Lao People's Democratic Republic in Guangzhou, aiming to deepen the economic cooperation between Guangdong and Laos.
Fang Lixu, President of CCPIT Guangdong[Photo provided to Newsgd.com]
Fang Lixu, President of CCPIT Guangdong, addressed that Guangdong has been one of the biggest trade partners of ASEAN countries in China. The total import and export trade between Guangdong and Laos reached 1.05 billion RMB. He believes that the implementation of RCEP and inauguration of the railway will further bilateral trade and investment between Guangdong and Laos.
Fang highlighted the CCPIT Guangdong planned to deepen bilateral cooperation in four major aspects, saying, “We shall jointly explore the potential of bilateral trade, especially the export of household appliances, mobile phones, integrated circuits and communication equipment from Guangdong to Laos as well as the import of raw materials, rice, coffee, bananas from Laos to Guangdong.”
In addition, Fang indicated CCPIT Guangdong would encourage Guangdong enterprises to participate in the infrastructure construction and industrial park construction in Laos. The Committee will also promote communication in such fields as mineral exploitation, agriculture and training while supporting the cooperation between business organizations of both sides.
Khamphao Ernthavanh, Lao Ambassador to China, introduced that China is the second biggest trade partner and the number one investor in Laos. The number of China-invested projects reached 833 in Laos, worth 16.4 billion USD. These projects are of different sizes and involve both government and private investment.
Khamphao Ernthavanh, Lao Ambassador to China [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]
According to Ernthavanh, most bilateral projects including the China-Laos Expressway, Vientiane-Vangvieng section of the China-Laos expressway, Vientiane Saysettha Development Zone, Mohan-Boten Economic Cooperation Zone as well as the power transformer lines project and a series of electric power projects have been put in place and gained profound achievement that benefit both sides.
Vanhpheng Saisomphou, LAO Consul General in Guangzhou, elaborated Laos has abundant natural resources such as energy and mineral resources with a cheap labor workforce. It’s also an ideal location to export processed products to the European markets with zero tariff. She believes the opportunities for cooperation between Guangdong and Laos will be enormous with the RCEP as well as the multiple railway and expressway projects undergone in the country.
Oudet Souvannavong, President of the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LNCCI), considers there is potential to increase due to the economic spill-off from the Lao-China Railways that has been completed in 2021, saying, “The railway is expected to open new markets for goods and commodities within the Mekong-Lancang Region and the ASEAN, increasing tourism visitors and developing industries for both Laos and China.”
Souvannavong said LNCCI established a Lao-China Investment and Business Advisory Board comprising of representatives from leading companies in Lao PDR and China. The Board is working on several projects which cover the establishments of dry ports, industrial parks, logistics and transport, and tourism facilities and attractions.
“The Board has recently achieved cooperation between Vientiane Dry Port and Kunming Dry port to facilitate the transit of goods and the export and import of products from and to China,” he added.
The project signing ceremony [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]
During the forum, the CCPIT Guangdong and the Guangzhou Office of LNCCI signed a MoU to push forward cooperation between Guangdong and Laos in the field of commerce and industry. Moreover, bilateral projects were sealed to construct the Vientiane expressway, develop the land along the expressway as well as to lease and develop the Luangprabang Special Economic Zone.
The roadshow was held at the forum. [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]
A roadshow was held at the event, which invited representatives from Lao Consulate General in Guangzhou, the chambers of commerce and enterprises to share their insight into the China-Laos railway and the latest opportunities for bilateral trade.
