This year marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. In the past few years, Xi Jinping, the Chinese President and general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has fulfilled his promise to Guangxi. He has always cared for and supported the development of Guangxi.

“I’m eager to go to Guangxi,” said Xi on March 10, 2010 when attending the plenary session of the Guangxi delegation at the Third Session of the 11th National People’s Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. He recalled his unforgettable experience when visiting Li River in Guangxi during his youth and made a promise to the delegates: finding a suitable time to go to Guangxi and take a good look there.

In April 2017, Xi Jinping met with grassroots level representatives during his visit to Guangxi.

Promise on ecological protection

Xi has always been concerned about the Li River. In 2010, he talked about “ecology” at the plenary session of the Guangxi delegation during the Two Sessions (the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference). He repeatedly said that the water quality of the Li River must not be destroyed, that the Li River not only belongs to the Guangxi people, but to the people of China and the whole world, and that we must protect the Li River scientifically as the river is a natural heritage shared by mankind.

In 2015, Xi came to the Guangxi delegation during the Two Sessions. During their meeting, Xi recalled his first visit to Guangxi and Guilin as a youngster. Xi told officials from Guangxi that it is necessary to protect Guilin and Guangxi’s ecological environment.

Beihai Golden Bay Mangrove Ecological Reserve.

In April 2017, Xi went to Guangxi for an inspection. He pointed out that Guangxi’s ecological advantage was more precious than gold. We should hold on to the basic principle of prioritizing thrift, protection and restoration, and the basic goal of making human and nature live together in harmony. Guangxi’s mountain would always be green, water would always flow, and air would always be fresh. The good ecological environment would be a boost to people’s quality and a focal point of building the region's beautiful image.

After the reform and opening-up, especially after the 18th CPC National Congress, Guangxi actively put green development theory into practice and made many achievements in terms of ecological protection. In 2017, Guangxi’s forest coverage reached 62.31 percent, ranking as one of the highest in China. The ratio of days with good air quality in a year reached 88.5 percent.

Guilin National Forest Park.

The high-quality ecological environment boosts the economy of Guangxi, which has become more and more important for promoting the rural economy and liberating people from poverty. More than 86 million people visited the forest in Guangxi and spent over 30 billion yuan there in 2017. The service industry’s share in GDP growth reached 49.8 percent.

Promise on opening up for development

Xi, as the leader of the Party and the country, first came to Guangxi from May 9 to 11, 2010. Xi required the Guangxi government to expand the breadth and depth of opening up constantly, to transform the geographical advantage to  a developmental advantage, based on their reality and oriented the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the world.

During the Two Sessions in 2015, Xi held a meeting with the delegation of Guangxi again. He indicated that the position of Guangxi would become more prominent in the opening-up, with the development of the Belt and Road Intiative, and Guangxi would face a historic opportunity for growth.

During the Two Sessions in March 2015, Xi Jinping participated in the deliberations of the Guangxi delegation.

In April 2017, Xi inspected Guangxi and urged that Guangxi should make full use of its geographical location and the potential of coastlines, rivers and border areas to promote opening up.

Guangxi has witnessed numerous legends of its own created by the efforts of both officials and the masses from the region.

It’s circle of partners is rapidly expanding. Consulates have been set up in Nanning, capital of Guangxi, by six ASEAN countries--Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Malaysia. Guangxi has established sister-city relations with 54 cities within the framework of ASEAN.

Its economy is booming. Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone always takes the lead in implementing urban integration, institutional reforms in the business sector, and border comprehensive financial reform, resulting in cross-border RMB settlements largely ahead among western regions.

On April 19, 2017, Xi Jinping visited the Tieshan Port in Beihai City, Guangxi, and talked with workers.

Its innovative mode of cross-border cooperation has received global attention. The China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park creates a new model for international production capacity cooperation named “Two Countries, Twin Parks”, which is a pioneering exploration and a proactive practice of the Belt and Road Initiative as well as a significant move towards an upgrading China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Under the leadership of the general secretary Xi and the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Guangxi is bound to write more glorious chapters of development in the future.

(Photos fom Xinhua and web; Compiled by Cui Naiwen, Li Siying, Jiang Yuge and Zhang Jian)