From January 15th to 18th, the "World Mayor Dialogue·Nanning" event with the theme of "Co-building China-ASEAN Friendly Home: Urban Openness and Cooperation" was held in Nanning, Guangxi. Mayors, mayor representatives and experts and scholars from eight countries including China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam participated in the event.

Economic and trade exchanges help win-win development

The "fountain of cooperation" in the exhibition square of Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center is surging. Nanning is the permanent venue for the China-ASEAN Expo. At the opening ceremony of the first ASEAN Expo, leaders of various countries poured the "water of cooperation" from the rivers, lakes and seas of China and ASEAN countries into large crystal containers, forming a "fountain of cooperation", which means that the holding of the ASEAN Expo is "natural". The concept of the "Fourth of Cooperation" sculpture is based on this classic moment.

"This is my first time in Nanning, but I heard about the origin of Nanning's cooperation with ASEAN-China very early. The 'Fountain of Cooperation' has profound meaning and novel creativity. This mayor dialogue activity has indeed brought cooperation opportunities like a gushing spring. We use urban cooperation to help win-win development and continue the tradition of ASEAN-China friendly cooperation." said Hai Yong, deputy mayor of Siem Reap, Cambodia.

In recent years, China and ASEAN have become increasingly close in economic and trade cooperation, bilateral trade volume has continued to grow, and industrial chains, supply chains and value chains have been deeply integrated. A total of 14 signed projects were reached at the main event of the "World Mayor Dialogue·Nanning", involving ASEAN countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Singapore, with foreign cooperation investment of more than 3.3 billion yuan.

The "Nanning Initiative" was also released at the event. Nong Shengwen, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Secretary of the Nanning Municipal Party Committee, said that the initiative aims to stand at a new historical starting point, promote pragmatic cooperation among all parties, accelerate the construction of a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future, and make greater contributions to world peace and development.

Cultural and Tourism Cooperation Promote Common Prosperity

The vast Guichun River water pours down from the cliff. The Detian Waterfall, located in Daxin County, Chongzuo City, Guangxi, is connected to the adjacent Banyue Waterfall in Vietnam. It is the first in Asia and the fourth largest transnational waterfall in the world. In October 2024, the China-Vietnam Detian (Banyue) Waterfall Cross-border Tourism Cooperation Zone was officially launched, and China's first cross-border tourism cooperation zone was born.

A scenic spot spans two countries. The picture of this iconic project of China-Vietnam tourism cooperation is on display in the Hibiscus Flower Hall of Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center. "This transnational waterfall is very famous in Vietnam." "I have seen this photo in the newspaper, and I have always wanted to see it with my own eyes." In front of the China-Vietnam Transnational Waterfall photo in the exhibition hall, Hu Guanghui, chairman of the People's Committee of Mangjie City, Vietnam, and his Vietnamese colleagues heated up discussing this "Internet celebrity waterfall".

In the dialogue session, Mayor of Matalan, Indonesia, Suppier and other mayors, introduced the Mayors and mayors of China and ASEAN countries as a tourist destination. "Indonesia is famous for its beautiful scenery in Bali. At present, the Indonesian government is actively developing new tourist destinations, and Lombok, where Matalan is located, is one of them." Suppiandi said that Matalan focuses on the high-quality development of the tourism industry and hopes to provide convenience to tourists while focusing on the development of smart cities and green cities. These fields happen to be what Nanning is good at. "I hope to use this mayor dialogue activity to exchange and share experiences in urban governance and tourism development with more cities."

Feel the technology and fireworks of "Green City"

"With the Ai Nanning APP, residents can bind electronic documents, take buses and take subways, scan the code to ride electric bikes, shop, eat, apply for various real estate certificates, and even directly settle for newborn children." At the China-ASEAN New Smart City Collaborative Innovation Center located in Nanning, staff are explaining to the mayors and mayor representatives of ASEAN countries and other guests a city Internet public service platform launched by the Nanning Municipal Government.

Sri Sabin, Mayor of Kota Kinabalu, listened very seriously. "There are more than 10 million registered users of this APP. This is amazing. The daily life of a city residents can find a more convenient way in an APP. The development of Nanning's smart city is well-deserved." Sri Sabin said that many Malaysian cities, including Kota Kinabalu, are also promoting the development of the digital industry, and Nanning's experience is worth learning.

Nanning, located south of the Tropic of Cancer, has a warm climate and evergreen seasons, and is also known as the "Green City". The grandfather of the Executive Councilor Huang Jiazhen of Kedah State, Malaysia, is from Guangxi. He said: "I grew up in Malaysia, but as a Chinese, I feel very friendly when I came to Nanning. This is a modern city and has a profound historical and cultural heritage."

"Cities in ASEAN countries and Chinese cities should tap each other's development potential on the basis of openness and inclusiveness." Asa Ponton Sipandun, Mayor of Vientiane City in Laos, said that Vientiane and Nanning achieved direct flights in October last year, which will help the two cities further strengthen personnel and economic and trade exchanges and deepen cooperation in more fields. China has led regional economic integration with an open attitude and contributed to the common development of regional and international friendly cities through equal and comprehensive consultation.