Qinzhou in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has been revitalized by the central government’s plan to develop the “Maritime Silk Road of the 21st Century”. The port city was the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road thousands of years ago. Qinzhou is a major conduit to Southeast Asia, with a national-level bonded port area and a Malaysian industrial park. “The central government should step up its funding and policy support for Qinzhou port if it really wants to boost connectivity with Southeast Asia,” said Pei Yun, Deputy Director of the Port Administration Bureau. “Improving the port is the main priority for Qinzhou,” Huang Lihe, an official from Qinzhou’s Development and Reform Commission said. Up until a few years ago, the port could not handle more than 1 million tons. But when China began deepening its integration into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the port’s handling capacity increased to 60 million tons and 600,000 standard containers last year. Qinzhou port looks forward to building more 300,000-ton berths to allow bigger ships to dock. During a visit to the city last year, Premier Li Keqiang said Qinzhou port should be handling at least 10 million TEU a year. Li pointed out that the vast hinterland of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces provides the port with huge growth potential. An application to build a free trade zone (FTZ) has been submitted to the central government. Qinzhou port’s four overseas lines－to Hong Kong, Singapore, Kaohsiung in Taiwan and Haiphong in Vietnam－all opened within the past three years. A new line to Kuantan in Malaysia will open this year. With cheap land and low taxes and labor costs, Qinzhou has attracted several large state-owned petroleum enterprises, along with petrochemical industries, thermal power and papermaking enterprises from Indonesia to its port area in the past decade, the China Daily reports.