NANNING -- Attendees to the 12th Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation Forum that opened Friday have noted the opportunities brought by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

The forum is held in the city of Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Initiated in 2006, the Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation Forum serves as a platform to discuss cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

"Pan-Beibu Gulf cooperation has grown into a significant sub-regional cooperation under the framework of China-ASEAN cooperation," said Jurin Laksanawisit, Thai deputy prime minister and commerce minister, at the forum.

He added that the Pan-Beibu Gulf cooperation has enhanced Thailand-China trade ties, and with the implementation of RCEP, it is more conducive to strengthening the economic and trade cooperation between the ASEAN and its trading partners.

This year's forum highlighted the shared opportunities brought by RCEP, the world's largest free trade deal to date that came into force on the first day of 2022, as well as the construction of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a trade and logistics passage jointly built by western Chinese provincial regions and Singapore.

RCEP provides greater convenience for trade between China and the ASEAN, and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor is an important platform for the implementation of RCEP, said Low Yen Ling, minister of state for the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth of Singapore.

"With the implementation of RCEP and booming development of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, we expect the Beibu Gulf Port to embrace a new period of rapid development," said Li Yanqiang, chairman of Beibu Gulf Port Group.

Beibu Gulf Port serves as an important transit point in the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor. So far, Beibu Gulf Port has operated 71 container routes, connecting it with more than 200 ports in over 100 countries and regions.

Noting China's achievements in port construction, Malaysian Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong, said Malaysia will continue to deepen cooperation with China and countries in the Pan-Beibu Gulf area in the future and make good use of the mechanism to seize new opportunities after RCEP came into effect.

"With the concerted efforts of China and the ASEAN, the economic cooperation in the Pan-Beibu Gulf region has been deepening and becoming increasingly effective," said Long Guoqiang, deputy head of the Development Research Center of the State Council. "The RCEP is set to bring new opportunities for the region."