Two months ago, the State Council highlighted the importance of the Pearl River-Xijiang River Economic Belt Development plan in its new national plan for regional development.

This distinction means that the economic zone is on its way to becoming a national priority, presenting Guangxi with new opportunities to push its growth to new heights, according to the local government.

Guangxi will prioritize the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone and the Xijiang River Economic Zone as the two engines of its future development. From 2009 to 2012, Guangxi invested more than 16.1 billion yuan ($2.56 billion) in constructing the golden waterway of the Xijiang River.