Located in the southwestern part of China, the Beibu Gulf Urban Agglomeration neighbors Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, and also faces Southeast Asia.
The State Council has approved a development plan for the city cluster around Beibu Gulf in Guangdong and Hainan provinces and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in February 2017.
The governments of Hainan, Guangdong and Guangxi reached an agreement on May 9 prioritizing cooperation in implementing the development plan of the Beibu Gulf urban cluster from 2018 to 2019.
Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, a tranquil border-region home to the largest number of ethnic minorities in the country, has been thrust into the frontier of China’s reform and opening-up to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The 15th China-ASEAN Expo opened in September 2018 in South China's Nanning city, highlighting trade and investment among China, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other countries along the Belt and Road.