Wuzhou in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has actively paved the way for its integration into the Greater Bay Area, aiming to develop into a leading city opening to the eastern areas along the golden waterway of the Xijiang River, according to Quan Guishou, secretary of the CPC Wuzhou municipal committee, during a media conference tour on May 21.

Old-style buildings known as qilou, or arcade-houses, are consistent with the style and concepts brought by many returning overseas Chinese from stays in Southeast Asia. [Photo by Chen Guanyan/chinanews.com]

Known as a gateway of Guangxi and Guangdong, Wuzhou is a city with a history of more than 2,200 years and is a centurial commercial port lying in the east of Guangxi. Adjacent to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Beibu Gulf, the city enjoys unique geographical advantages and development prospects, as well as convenient transportation networks to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanning, and Kunming.

Currently, a number of cooperation zones and industrial parks have taken shape in the city, including the Guangdong-Guangxi Interprovincial Pilot Cooperation Special Zone, the Wuzhou Circular Economy Industrial Park, and the Wuzhou Harbor Economic Zone, prioritizing the development of several strategic emerging industries, such as circular economy, new-generation information technologies, biological medicine, high-end equipment manufacturing, new materials, healthcare, trade and logistics, as well as e-commerce.

Reporters showcase Wuzhou LiuPao Tea, which has a history of 1,500 years and is ranked fourth in China's black tea industry. [Photo by Chen Guanyan/chinanews.com]

In addition, the city has introduced more preferential policies in investment, resulting in a boom in business investment of enterprises from the Greater Bay Area. In the first quarter of this year, a total of 83 projects were invested in by Guangdong enterprises in Wuzhou, bringing in available funds of 11 billion yuan ($1.6 billion).

Reporters get an in-depth lesson regarding Wuzhou's urban planning. [Photo by Chen Guanyan/chinanews.com]

Wuzhou plays a key role in connecting the east and the west areas in the opening and cooperation of the Greater Bay Area. The city is expected to draw up a three-year (2019-21) action plan to strengthen its cooperation with the Greater Bay Area and raise the level of its opening-up to build Wuzhou into a pivot city during the process of Guangxi's integration into the Greater Bay Area, said Guo Bizhen, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Wuzhou Municipal Committee.