Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, April 24, 2003
WWII Battlefield in SW China Turns New Economic Arena
The site of a major air battle between the famed US air force "Flying Tigers" and the Japanese invaders during World War II is now attracting increasing numbers of investors as China and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members begin working to build a free trade area.
The site of a major air battle between the famed US air force "Flying Tigers" and the Japanese invaders during World War II is now attracting increasing numbers of investors as China and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members begin working to build a free trade area.
Liuzhou, one of the Flying Tigers' air bases the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, south China, has become a major destination for investors given its uniqueness of linking China and southeast Asia.
"Based at Liuzhou Airport, the US Air Force 14th air fleet led by General Claire Lee Chennault had fierce air battles with Japanese fighters during the war against Japanese aggression," said Wen Qizhou, an assistant research fellow at the Liuzhou City Museum.
Late General Chennault organized American volunteer pilots into a squadron known as the "Flying Tigers" to transport arms and other materials to help China fight the Japanese invaders. TheUS volunteers opened the famous the air route from India to Kunming and Chongqing cities in southwest China via Burma.
Analysts said Liuzhou is now restoring its wartime strategic position of linking China and Vietnam as a new round of investment is sparked by the free trade area under negotiation.
"Companies in Liuzhou may seek their fortunes along Vietnam's No. 1 Highway which runs through the country's south and north as Vietnamese companies are looking for Chinese partners," said Wang Weihua, deputy director of the Liuzhou City Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation.
Wang said an extension of the expressway from Guangxi's border city of Youyiguan to Nanning, its capital, is now under construction.
Companies in Liuzhou have also stepped up the pace of their race with competitors at home and abroad to invest in ASEAN countries.
"We will set up a toothpaste plant and hold 100 percent of its shares in northern Thailand," said Zhang Huayi, assistant president of Liuzhou-based Liangmianzhen Co., Ltd., one of China's major toothpaste producers with an annual production capacity of 500 million tubes.
Although the plant will be challenged by companies from the United States and Japan, Zhang said he was optimistic about the prospects since their toothpaste is made of traditional Chinese medicine.
"There's still a hole in the market for toothpaste products in ASEAN countries," he said, adding that abundant plant resources for medical use are available in the Golden Triangle area.