The Chinese government and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will jointly develop Guangxi province's Beibu Gulf into an international tourist resort.

The Guangxi provincial government has decided to build Beibu Gulf into a top international tourist destination over the next 10 years. The cooperation with ASEAN is a seen as an essential step to realize that goal.

Some industry analysts said that tourism cooperation with ASEAN has become a hot topic in China's plan to develop the Pan Beibu Gulf Tourism Area.

The municipal government of Fangchenggang, a port city on Beibu Gulf, has announced 70 tourism projects for 2010, with an investment of 15.6 billion yuan. So far, 40 projects have been launched with 1 billion yuan?in investments.