In southern China, the Qinzhou port has become a hub for the Asian tropical fruit trade, connecting the region with distributors in Indonesia, Vietnam and other major producers.

As part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the country’s enormous global infrastructure strategy, the Chinese government has invested in cold storage and express processing lines specifically for tropical fruits at the Qinzhou port, according to state media.

The investments come as part of efforts to further open the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to regional and international trade through “a high-quality New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.” The aim is to increase ease of access between member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, through railway, road and sea routes.

“To make Guangxi more accessible to the international and domestic markets, the region should better align itself with international economic and trade rules, and work hard to facilitate investment, trade, consumption, capital flows, people-to-people exchanges and logistics,” said Liu Ning, secretary of the Communist Party of China Guangxi regional committee, in a public statement.

From Qinzhou Port, distributors are able to connect with nearby provinces, as well as Hong Kong, Macao and the Yangtze River Delta, among other routes, according to Chinese reports.

Vietnam fruit trade

Tropical fruit imports, mostly longan, coconut, mango and mangosteen, grew substantially in January and February at Qinzhou port, according to official customs statistics. Imports totaled more than 3,300 metric tons, a value of about 25.43 million yuan or US$3.51 million, up 178.4 percent for January and 292.5 percent for February, year-on-year.

At the Youyi Pass, more than 200 miles away on the China-Vietnam border, the fruit trade grew 262.3 percent to 23.88 billion yuan in value, propelled by connectivity with the port.

Vietnam has seen significant growth in its fresh fruit trade with China in recent years.

China is the biggest import market for Vietnamese fruit. Vietnam currently has Chinese import approval for dragon fruit, watermelon, banana, lychee, longan, rambutan, jackfruit, mango, mangosteen, durian and passion fruit.