South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is using artificial intelligence and cross-border data platforms to deepen trade in services with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), leveraging the sector's annual growth of over 20 percent for three consecutive years.
Guangxi, which borders Vietnam and serves as a key gateway for China-ASEAN commerce, recorded nearly 3.4 billion U.S. dollars in services imports and exports in 2025, up 22 percent from a year earlier.
The region is serving as guest province at this year's China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, which runs through Sunday.
One Guangxi-based producer of short-form dramas has developed an AI platform that links script generation, image production and final editing, allowing a production to be completed in seven to 10 days and adapted into multiple languages.
Founded in 2023, the company says it has released more than 12,000 short-form dramas worldwide and attracted more than 50 million overseas users.
"We are focusing on two cultural-tourism drama projects for ASEAN audiences. By weaving intangible cultural heritage and regional culture into the storylines, we want cultural-tourism short dramas to become more than a concept by developing into vivid, real and full-fledged stories," said Wang Tingting, public affairs director at the short-skit producing media group.
Beyond digital content, Guangxi is developing data infrastructure to support cross-border commerce. A credit-information service platform operated by China-ASEAN Information Harbor Co., Ltd pools corporate credit and industry data from China and overseas for government agencies, banks, businesses and credit-reporting firms.
By August, the platform had partnered with more than 100 financial institutions. Its services had been accessed more than 150 million times. It had served more than 10 million small and micro enterprises, and had helped facilitate more than 510 billion yuan or about 76 billion U.S. dollars, in financing.
"The platform now allows users to access company credit information in more than 200 countries and regions. Its data cover more than 400 million companies in China and abroad, including more than seven million across ASEAN, and support cross-border investment, financing and settlement. Going forward, we will gradually apply credit-data standards, data applications and data-security technologies in ASEAN countries," said Gan Qiuling, executive president of China-ASEAN Information Harbor Co., Ltd.
Guangxi's services imports and exports reached 1.66 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of this year, up 26 percent from a year earlier.
"We are focusing on knowledge-intensive services. In the first six months, imports and exports in maintenance and repair services, telecommunications and computer services, and cross-border information services each grew by more than 35 percent. Building on our role as the CIFTIS fair's guest province, we will continue to strengthen Guangxi's capacity as a hub for services trade with ASEAN and contribute to building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future," said Li Shuo, deputy director of Guangxi's commerce department.
The CIFTIS fair, which runs through Sunday at Beijing's Shougang Park, brings together participants from 90 countries, regions and international organizations, with international participation exceeding last year's level. More than 1,830 companies are exhibiting in person, including 473 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders.
Guangxi uses AI, data platforms to expand ASEAN services trade
