From bubble tea to business ties: a taste of China-ASEAN trade integration

Not far from the bustling exhibition hall of the China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO), another vibrant scene is unfolding -- a milk tea festival, making its debut at the 21-year-old CAEXPO and drawing over 100 renowned brands from both domestic and international markets.

At this splendid gala, milk tea enthusiasts can savor a variety of chilled tea drinks infused with Thai lemons, fruit tea crafted with Cambodian longan, and bubble tea made from Vietnamese tapioca starch.

This lively atmosphere reflects a burgeoning arena of economic and trade cooperation being explored by savvy Chinese and ASEAN businesses.

This photo taken on Sept. 27, 2024 shows a scene of a milk tea festival at the China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Xu Yiying)

From coffee to durian, and from electronics to high-tech industries, economic exchanges between China and ASEAN countries are continuously deepening, with cooperation across various sectors becoming increasingly robust.

NEW TRENDS, NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Walking through the streets of Nanning, capital city of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the host city of CAEXPO, it's easy to spot people sipping milk tea from straws inserted into plastic bags.

This trend is inspired by Thailand's street-side bagged milk tea beverages.

Zhang Guiwen runs a Thai-style paper bag milk tea shop in Nanning. The shop always receives a flood of orders at lunchtime.

"We prepare the paper bags in advance for the lunch rush. With the high daytime temperatures, consumers are thirsty for refreshing cold drinks. Our bestsellers include Thai milk tea, jasmine lemon tea and Laos iced coffee," Zhang said.

Thai tea beverages carve out a unique niche with their distinctive packaging and flavors amid the intense competition among tea drink brands in the domestic market, Zhang added.

This photo taken on Sept. 8, 2023 shows a shop which sells Southeast Asian beverages in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.  (Xinhua/Hu Xingyu)

Sharing a long history of tea-drinking culture and similar dietary habits, along with the hot and humid climate in southern China and ASEAN countries, the two sides have sensed significant business opportunities. Leading Chinese milk tea brands like Mixue, CHAGEE and Naixue have already come to the fore in the markets of ASEAN countries.

HEYTEA, which has over 4,000 stores worldwide, launched its first overseas store in Singapore in 2018.

Last month, Naixue opened its first overseas flagship outlet in Bangkok's massive shopping complex Central World, sparking a frenzy among young consumers. "The Southeast Asian market is very promising," said Zhang Yufeng, a senior official at Naixue.

Apart from its outlets in Thailand, the company plans to enter the Malaysian and Indonesian markets in the near future.

A woman visits a Chinese milk tea shop in Cairo, Egypt, July 23, 2023.  (Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)

"The rapid economic growth of ASEAN countries, coupled with a population of around 300 million young people, creates a vast market that is essential for the successful expansion of Chinese milk tea brands abroad," said Lei Xiaohua, a researcher with the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences.

Chinese milk tea brands possess core advantages in supply chains, research and development, talent and management, which ensures their strong competitiveness overseas, making it easier for them to capture market share and seize business opportunities, Lei added.

ENHANCED COLLABORATION, CLOSER TIES

According to statistics released at the Production and Sales Matchmaking & Investment Conference on New-style Tea Supply Chain 2024 during the CAEXPO, the market size of new-style tea drinks in China reached 193.3 billion yuan (about 27.6 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 15.7 percent. The figure is expected to reach 250 billion yuan by 2025.

Tea drinks are pictured during a milk tea festival at the China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sept. 27, 2024. (Xinhua/Guo Yifan)

Many Thai-style tea shop operators in Guangxi reported that the ingredients of their beverages, such as black tea, coconut milk, condensed milk and coffee, are imported from ASEAN countries.

To cater to "Generation Z," the main consumers of milk tea, both Chinese and ASEAN tea companies are continuously innovating. Today, milk tea drinks have evolved far beyond the traditional tapioca bubbles, but feature a plethora of toppings, including flavored jellies, pudding, fruit pieces, nuts and taro balls.

As a major agricultural province in fruit, sugar, tea and dairy products, Guangxi also enjoys geographical advantages due to its proximity to Southeast Asian countries. Additionally, it is home to Youyiguan, one of China's largest fruit import ports, through which over half of the high-quality ASEAN fruits, such as durians and mangosteens, are imported.

Customs staff members check imported durians at Youyiguan Port in Pingxiang City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Aug. 26, 2024. (Xinhua/Lu Boan)

The streamlined customs clearance procedures, as well as the improved logistics network between China and ASEAN, including the China-Laos Railway and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, both Belt and Road Initiative projects, provide a foundation for the deep integration of cross-border industrial and supply chains.

These unique advantages help Guangxi to foster close exchanges in tea-based beverages between China and ASEAN.

Guangxi State Farms Mingyang Starch Development Co. Ltd. is a major starch producer, producing milk tea ingredients such as tapioca bubbles. "About 90 percent of our raw materials are imported from ASEAN countries," said Zhao Jundan, manager of the company's purchasing center.

The company's wholly-owned subsidiary in Vietnam has about 210 employees, including 185 Vietnamese nationals. "The development of the milk tea industry has increased employment and enhanced the income of local farmers in Vietnam, and also stimulated tapioca processing in neighboring countries like Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia," Zhao added.

Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang said at the opening ceremony of this year's CAEXPO that China is willing to work with ASEAN to deepen practical cooperation and write a new chapter in building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

Official data shows that China has remained ASEAN's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years. In the first seven months of this year, bilateral trade reached 552 billion U.S. dollars, up 7.7 percent year on year.