Minister Steinmeier - AHKs

BHUTAN L
ANGLADESH
Business Focus
y ofBengal
Yunnan - South China
MYANMAR
AndamanSea
Kunming
LAOS
THAILAND
KAMPUCHEA
August - September 2008 | 18
Hanoi
VIETNAM
CHINA
South ChinaSea
TAIWAN
Yunnan – Gateway to ASEAN
PHILIPPINES
BRUNEI
Major construction MALAYSIA is now underway in eastern Yunnan Province
MALAYSIA
to complete a vast infrastructure project. A new highway linking
Kunming to Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, should be completed by
SINGAPORE
2012, shortening the journey from three days to just 9 hours by truck.
The Kunming - Hanoi highway is backed by a USD 1.1bn loan from the
Asian Development Bank (ADB), making it the most expensive project
in the ADB’s history.
The German Chamber of Commerce in China
Philippine Sea
markets more efficiently. Moreover, the highway will allow Vietnam’s
Hai Phong and Cai Lan ports to access Kunming, which significantly
shortens the current route through Fangcheng Port in Guangxi. As a
result, the transportation network will not only integrate both economies,
but also spur growth. Vietnamese products will consist mainly of
agricultural and maritime products which will quickly reach previously
untapped markets in southwestern China.
The upgrade of the overland route comes at an opportune time, as
traffic volume on existing roads between Hanoi and the Chinese border
town of Hekou has been increasing at a rate of 12% per year. Over 5.5m
vehicles are expected to use the corridor in 2012, a number that will
expectedly increase more than three-fold to 17m by 2022.
Trade in 2007 between Yunnan and the 10 member states of the Asso-
PAPUANEW GUINEA
ciation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reached USD 3bn, up
Construction workers from both China and Vietnam will soon join INDONESIA
forces to build the highway, which promises increased opportuni-
nearly 40% over 2006, with Vietnam replacing Myanmar as the provties
for the once heavily-guarded border region. Exporters in Kunming
ince’s top trading partner.
will be able to ship products which depend on fast access to global
The Kunming to Hanoi highway project will contribute to the ambitious
Asian Highway program under which 27 Asian countries have
IndianOcean
pledged to build a 139,200km network of roads that meet minimum
uniform standards. Additional infrastructure projects in Yunnan and
China’s neighboring countries are currently underway to facilitate
trade with ASEAN. Some of the more notable projects include a new
international airport in Kunming and a rail network linking Kunming
and Singapore via three trunk lines passing through Myanmar, Laos,
Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia.
New band • New location
New competition
16-21 September. Jinhan Centre,
Guangzhou (opposite China Hotel)
http://oktoberfest.dayoo.com
These projects propel the ambition to turn Yunnan into China’s
Gateway to ASEAN. The two emerging economic regions are preparing
for the ASEAN-China AUSTRALIA Free Trade Area (ACFTA), which will launch
its first phase in 2010. The ASEAN-China free trade area will have a
total population of 1.8bn and a combined gross national product of
USD 2tn when completed in 2010. ACFTA aims to reduce and eliminate
tariffs and quotas on goods moving between China and ASEAN states.
Analysts expect an increase in raw materials and natural resources
flowing into China and manufactured products flowing out. By 2015,
China and its immediate Southeast Asian neighbors (Vietnam, Laos,
Myanmar) will also impose zero tariffs on most normal products.
Due to the crowd-drawing World Heritage sites Ha Long Bay in
Vietnam and The Three Parallel Rivers in Yunnan, the new highway is
also expected to expand cross-border tourism between the two countries.
An increase in demand for tourism is expected to help the region
develop a more advanced service sector.
Cutting through thick jungle and scaling steep mountain slopes,
construction workers act as a vanguard for intensified cooperation
between China and its regional counterparts.
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