Guangxi sees rising trade with ASEAN

South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region saw 1.59 billion U.S dollars' worth of trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)in the first two months of 2013, according to new data. The figure is a 20.8-percent year-on-year increase compared with the corresponding period in 2012, said the Nanning Customs District of China on Monday. The export value from Guangxi to the ASEAN was 1.21 billion U.S. dollars, a 30.2-percent year-on-year rise. The ASEAN remains the region's largest trade partner, followed by the United States and the European Union, with which Guangxi respectively racked up a trade volume of 490 million U.S dollars and 390 million U.S. dollars in the first two months of 2013, showed statistics released by the customs authorities of Nanning, the regional capital. The ASEAN has been Guangxi's largest trade partner for 13 consecutive years. China and the association's members formed a free trade zone in January 2010. Last year, trade between Guangxi and the ASEAN amounted to 12.05 billion U.S. dollars, up 26 percent from 2011.