Kunming aims to become SE. Asian logistical center

Kunming (CNS) -- Kunming must develop a strong transportation and logistics network to serve as China's front door to ASEAN and southern Asia, said Wei Jianguo, official with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, during the China International Logistics Week, Sunday.

The logistics industry plays a key role in China's economic reform as well as being a vital part of real economy, said Wei at the 2012 Global Logistics Forum.

China's logistics costs take up about 19 percent of the country's GDP, 8 percent more than the average of developed countries, and such inefficiencies have become the chief burden of small and mid-sized enterprises in the country.

Regional development of the logistics industry is the obvious solution to the current disorder, and Kunming, as China's southwestern door to Vietnam, Myanmar, and Laos, naturally lays claim to the huge economic potential, added Wei.

Wei's opinion was echoed by representatives of many Southeast Asian governments and firms in attendance. In her address to the forum Thai logistics official Kate Choomchaiyo stressed that cooperation between Thai cities and Kunming would go a long way to smoothing trade relationships between China and Southeast Asian countries, India and even European states.