Located in the southwestern region of Guangdong province, the coastal city of Zhanjiang is poised to expand cooperation with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The large-scale iron, steel and petrochemical projects under construction in Zhanjiang present new opportunities for economic cooperation with ASEAN to reach a higher level, said Mayor Wang Zhongbing.
The Zhanjiang representative office of the China-ASEAN Business Council Chinese Secretariat was established during the 2012 China-ASEAN Economic and Trade Cooperation Zhanjiang Activities, which officially began on June 18.
The pharmaceuticals, shipping and logistics industries are considered to be promising new frontiers for cooperation between Zhanjiang and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
With 2,100 kilometers of coastline and 130 islands, the tropical city of Zhanjiang on the Leizhou Peninsula has many attractions to draw tourists.
More than 200,000 new jobs are expected to be created when the new 63.5 billion yuan ($10.1 billion) steel complex and 59 billion yuan Sino-Kuwaiti petrochemical project and related industries in the port city Zhanjiang are in full swing, Mayor Wang Zhongbing said.
Construction of mammoth steel and refinery projects in Zhanjiang, South China's Guangdong province, are well underway and will give the port city's economy a huge boost, its mayor has said.