Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has made full use of its advantage of being a frontier for opening-up and cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), making remarkable achievements in promoting RMB trans-regional usage for ASEAN countries, Xinhua reported on Jan 18.

Statistics showed that Guangxi's cross-border RMB settlement in Guangxi volume during the first 11 months of 2019 amounted to 145.9 billion yuan ($21.27 billion), up 23.5 percent year-on-year, pioneering among the 12 provinces and autonomous regions in West China, as well as among the nine border provinces and autonomous regions in China.

The RMB cross-border payment and collection between Guangxi and ASEAN countries during the same time period reached 61.4 billion yuan, accounting for 42 percent of Guangxi's total amount.

A person in charge of the Nanning Central Sub-Branch of the People's Bank of China said that Guangxi's cross-border RMB business has maintained great momentum thanks to its unique geographic location and business innovation. 

ASEAN countries have been an important area and the largest market for the development of Guangxi's cross-border RMB business since the region started its pilot project for cross-border RMB settlement in 2010.

In addition, Guangxi has devoted efforts to achieving a more convenient trade and investment environment. The region has released an online information sharing platform for trade settlement at border ports, cutting the time of single settlement business from over one hour to one minute.

By the end of 2019, the platform has covered all service agencies managing border trade, involving 22.23 billion yuan and benefiting more than 95,000 users.