In recent years, Guangxi’s Cangwu County has integrated its People’s Congress work into the broader context of the “East Integration” development strategy. By leveraging the role of inter-provincial People’s Congress representative liaison stations, the county has enriched the theme of “Cantonese-Guangxi Cooperation: Empowering the People’s Congress” and explored new pathways for inter-provincial collaboration among representatives. This initiative has fostered innovative cross-regional cooperation among People’s Congress delegations.
Huang Haiping, the director of the Cangwu County People’s Congress Standing Committee, stated, “We need to break down boundaries and harness the power of both counties’ representatives to effectively tackle issues that cross provincial and watershed lines.” To address the challenges of implementing cross-regional consensus between Guangdong and Guangxi, the Cangwu County People’s Congress proposed a fresh approach to inter-provincial collaboration.
In 2017, Cangwu County partnered with Fengkai County in Guangdong to establish a mechanism for communication and joint governance among People’s Congress representatives from border areas. This collaboration resulted in the “Cantonese-Guangxi Cooperation: Empowering the People’s Congress” initiative, which continuously promotes integrated regional development between the two areas.
Subsequently, the People’s Congress of both counties signed several agreements, including the “Regional Cooperation Agreement for People’s Congress Representatives” and the “Agreement for Deepening and Expanding Cooperation between Cantonese and Guangxi People’s Congresses.” They implemented a cooperative mechanism called “Three Commons and Three Mutually Reinforcing Elements” (common planning, common discussion, and common promotion; mutually proposed, mutually executed, and mutually supervised), which has widened the avenues for representatives to fulfill their duties.
Thanks to the cooperation of the People’s Congress from Cangwu and Fengkai, local hot-button issues in border areas have seen resolutions, including the construction of five “Heart Road and Heart Bridge” connections, spanning 17 kilometers, improving travel and agricultural product transport for residents; the mediation of 23 land and forest disputes with a 100% resolution rate; and joint efforts in pollution control for inter-provincial rivers.
Moreover, the two counties established a “Cantonese-Guangxi Inter-Provincial People’s Congress Cooperation and Exchange Activity Center” at the Fifth Boundary Marker, serving as a platform for ongoing exchange and collaboration among representatives.
This July and October, Cangwu and Fengkai held their inaugural “Representative and Director Face-to-Face” events. These meetings included joint follow-up discussions on suggestions raised by representatives concerning pressing issues like industrial integration and environmental cleanup. Local departments addressed these suggestions on-site, providing immediate resolutions or, for more complex issues, outlining plans and timelines for solutions.
Currently, the two regions have established a liaison station for People’s Congress representatives in the Guangxi Mingshuang and Guangdong Dazhou border area, where 31 representatives from five levels work together. They collaboratively create systems for training, representative activities, and joint research initiatives, and they frequently participate in representative engagement activities.
Quan Houzhao, the chairman of the Mingshuang Town People’s Congress in Cangwu County, noted, “We have designated the 22nd of every month as our People’s Congress Activity Day to discuss various livelihood issues, which promotes joint governance and builds stronger relationships in border areas.”
In terms of cooperation to boost industry integration, Cangwu County’s Liubao tea and Fengkai County’s Xinghua chicken are recognized local specialties and national geographical indication products. In recent years, the People’s Congress in both regions has proposed mutual support for the integration of these industries. Relevant departments are now collaborating on the development of Liubao tea and Xinghua chicken, working together to promote the initiative “Guangxi Cultivates, Guangdong Grows.”
As a result, Cangwu and Fengkai counties have jointly established the “Cantonese-Guangxi Liubao Tea Study Demonstration Garden” and a model planting base for Liubao tea in Dazhou Town. They are actively promoting its cultivation and building a base for the “Canton-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Vegetable Basket” project. Over the past year, they have conducted ten educational activities reaching 1,500 participants and held 14 training sessions on e-commerce and tea cultivation, along with hosting agricultural product fairs that helped generate sales worth 300,000 yuan.
Additionally, in the development of the Xinghua chicken industry, Cangwu County plans to collaborate closely with leading poultry enterprises in Fengkai. Utilizing a “Company + Base + Farmer” model, Fengkai will supply chicks, feed, technology, and product buy-back services, while Cangwu organizes local cooperatives and major farmers to jointly develop the Xinghua chicken industry.
