Illustration: Tang Tengfei/GT

Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has reportedly launched an ASEAN-focused international pilot program in the data sector, becoming one of the first Chinese cities to take such a step. Part of Guangxi's steady efforts to develop its digital economy, the move underscores the growing potential for China-ASEAN cooperation in the sector and provides a tangible context for companies from the region and beyond to assess opportunities arising from China's evolving digital economy.

CCTV News reported on Thursday that the pilot program has several components. First, Guangxi plans to accelerate the development of infrastructure to reduce transmission delays for ASEAN-bound data. Second, the region aims to promote mutual recognition of data governance rules between China and ASEAN through the establishment of a China-ASEAN data trading service network. Third, it intends to foster digital cooperation scenarios by focusing on ASEAN market needs and supporting the development of cross-border industrial ecosystems.

The move is expected to further strengthen China-ASEAN cooperation in the digital economy. Opportunities for collaboration between the two sides appear to be widening, underscoring the region's potential in digital markets.

Guangxi offers a useful lens through which to observe the potential of China-ASEAN cooperation in the digital economy. In recent years, the region has been working to build itself into a hub to facilitate data flows with ASEAN. According to media reports, these efforts cover the construction of land and submarine cable networks, the acceleration of data transmission, and the improvement of rules governing cross-border data flows. They are aimed at making exchanges between China and ASEAN economies more efficient and reliable, reflecting the practical progress of the region's expanding digital engagement.

In terms of data infrastructure, much has already been accomplished in Guangxi. According to a People's Daily report from last August, the region has laid 12 cross-border land cables connecting Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and other ASEAN economies.

To accelerate data transmission, local authorities said in August 2025 that the region was speeding up efforts to build a high-speed data channel toward ASEAN. With the construction of an international communication gateway hub, data transmitted from Nanning to ASEAN economies will no longer need to take longer indirect routes, greatly shortening transmission distances.

Taking data transmission between Nanning and Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, as an example, latency is expected to fall from 107 milliseconds to 18 milliseconds - an improvement of nearly fivefold. Moreover, the project is also expected to lower communication costs and improve communication quality, bringing benefits to businesses such as cross-border e-commerce, cross-border livestreaming, and cross-border financial services.

These developments take place amid rapid growth in the digital economy across both China and ASEAN. In China, advances in digital technologies have supported new forms of commerce and services, including e-commerce and livestreaming, creating a wide range of emerging opportunities across sectors.

In ASEAN economies, digital adoption is also accelerating. The region presents diverse and expanding market demands, creating strong opportunities for collaboration along China-ASEAN digital value chains. This dynamic, in turn, can support the development of ASEAN's digital economy and provide additional momentum for growth.

Opportunities for China-ASEAN cooperation are increasingly emerging across multiple segments of the digital economy. These prospects are mutually beneficial, representing one of the most active areas of bilateral economic engagement, where both sides have clear and tangible market demands.

The question now is how to turn these opportunities into tangible results. In this context, recent developments in Guangxi provide a practical basis for progress, demonstrating how targeted efforts can facilitate cross-border cooperation in the digital economy. The international pilot program reflects wider regional trends and is expected to help bring these opportunities to fruition, offering benefits to businesses on both sides.

Digital economy collaboration has growing potential. Continued investment in infrastructure, the alignment of governance rules, and the facilitation of cross-border exchanges are all important steps in creating concrete opportunities for businesses. Against a backdrop of deepening value chain integration, engagement in the digital economy is becoming an increasingly important area, offering tangible opportunities for companies across the region.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn