Guangxi is the primary gateway, and it has turned fruit logistics into a science. — China Daily
NANNING: The durian – a fruit so pungent it’s banned in some Asian hotels – is gaining new status in China as a symbol of economic integration and everyday luxury.
In the bustling, aroma-heavy aisles of the Haijixing Market in South China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, the spiked “king of fruits” is no longer a rare treat but a staple purchase for many.
The large wholesale fruit market is located in Nanning, the region’s capital, and it now piles durians high and sells them fast.
The colourful abundance of fruits on offer at the market, including durians and mangosteens from Thailand, as well as red-fleshed dragon fruits from Vietnam, masks a complex, high-stakes operation that races against time and decay every day.
It is the most tangible result of the “sweet cooperation” between China and Asean countries, which is accelerating at a dizzying pace, reshaping diets, economies and the importance of fruit for many.
This shift from luxury to near-ubiquity is a logistic marvel engineered in border cities like Pingxiang, which is located on the China-Vietnam border and is home to Youyiguan, or the Friendship Pass.
Here, the theoretical maps of regional trade agreements become a steady procession of cross-border trucks, carrying precious cargo from orchards in South-East Asia and navigating a customs process that has been fine-tuned to allow for speed.
This process ensures a Thai durian can move from the branch it was grown on to a dinner table in a Chinese city thousands of kilometres away while remaining fresh.
The machinery enabling this process is a blend of policy and perspiration.
Guangxi is the primary gateway, and it has turned fruit logistics into a science.
The region has established dedicated windows for inbound fruit, as well as fast-track green channels, according to Li Shuo, deputy director of the regional department of commerce.
The goal is for customs clearance to take a total of six hours.
The system employs a two-step admission process that allows compliant fruit imports to be released conditionally, slashing waiting times.
The ports never sleep, operating on a 24/7 appointment-system basis to ensure the tropical tide keeps moving.
And trade statistics reveal its success.
In 2024, Guangxi imported nearly 2.5 million tonnes of fruit from Asean, worth close to 35 billion yuan in total and accounting for over a third of China’s total imports.
But this process is evolving beyond mere transit.
The initial import model saw fruit enter Guangxi only to be immediately trucked north, creating a “corridor economy” with limited local benefits. — Xinhua
