At Guangxi Chongzuo East Asia Sugar Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "East Asia Sugar") — a subsidiary of Guangxi Nanning East Asia Sugar Group — the 1,000-acre industrial complex sits nestled amid lush greenery, with orderly arranged workshops maintaining impeccable cleanliness. Inside the sugar refining workshop, the faint sweetness of sugarcane lingers in the air. In the central control room, several technicians diligently monitor equipment performance through real-time parameter displays on computer screens. The entire sugar refining workshop operates with a high degree of automation, requiring just over 20 personnel on site per shift, clearly demonstrating the achievement of intelligent and digital production.
On August 25, more than 20 media representatives and internet influencers from ASEAN countries who participated in the "Sharing New Opportunities, Working Towards the Future Together" — 2025 Guangxi Interview Activity for Overseas Media visited enterprises in Chongzuo High-tech Industrial Development Zone.
Chongzuo, situated on the China-Vietnam border, is renowned as the "Sugar Capital of China." East Asia Sugar was established in 1993 as a joint venture between Mitr Phol of Thailand and five state-owned sugar factories in Chongzuo, Guangxi. It has developed diversified operations spanning sugar production, biomass power generation, yeast manufacturing, fertilizer & feed production, agricultural technology, and commercial trade, forming a comprehensive circular economy industrial chain centered on sugar manufacturing. During the 2024/2025 sugarcane crushing season, East Asia Sugar processed a total of 8.2 million tons of sugarcane, resulting in the production of 1.05 million tons of sugar. It fulfilled its financial obligations by disbursing approximately CNY 4.2 billion in timely and complete payments to sugarcane farmers. Currently, East Asia Sugar maintains close partnerships with over 100,000 sugarcane-growing households.
East Asia Sugar's CNY 2.148-billion circular economy project has significantly enhanced Guangxi's sugar industry competitiveness, serving as a model for Belt and Road cooperation and China-Thailand collaboration. The biomass power plant of the project utilizes sugarcane bagasse byproducts from processing to generate renewable electricity, annually supplying approximately 150,000 MWh of clean energy to the grid while extending the sugar industry chain and achieving combined heat and power benefits.
Chongzuo shares a border with Vietnam. According to the relevant executive of East Asia Sugar, Vietnam's frontier regions possess abundant land resources and favorable natural conditions, making them ideal for sugarcane cultivation. Guided by the principle of "building a China-Vietnam community with shared strategic significance," East Asia Sugar is pioneering an innovative cross-border sugar industry model of "Vietnamese sugarcane farming + Chongzuo sugar refining." This complementary partnership leverages each region's comparative advantages to achieve mutually beneficial cooperation.
Leveraging its joint venture advantages, East Asia Sugar has pioneered an innovative vocational education model of "borrowing vessels to sail overseas and establishing off-site training programs" to cultivate localized talent overseas. This initiative has significantly advanced China-Thailand vocational education exchanges and cross-border cooperation between schools and enterprises. Since 2019, Mitr Phol of Thailand and East Asia Sugar have collaborated with Khon Kaen Advanced Agricultural Technology College of Thailand, Guangxi Vocational & Technical Institute of Industry, and Guangxi Electrical Polytechnic Institute to jointly establish several Sino-Thai educational institutions including the Silk Road International College of Sugar Industry, Smart Sugar Industry College, Sino-Thai Modern Electric Power Craftsman College, and Sino-Thai Modern Sugar Industry Craftsman College, creating an integrated trinity platform that combines industry, education, and think tank resources.
Also located in Chongzuo High-tech Industrial Development Zone, Guangxi Chongzuo Lee & Man Pulp Manufacturing Limited (hereinafter referred to as "Chongzuo Lee & Man") is capitalizing on the city's strategic position as a frontier for China-ASEAN open cooperation.
Lee & Man Holding Limited was founded in Hong Kong in 1976, with Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing Limited established in 1994. Today, it has grown into a globally leading integrated packaging paper and forest pulp paper enterprise with full industrial chain operations. Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing Limited operates eight production bases across Guangdong, Jiangsu, Chongqing, Jiangxi, Guangxi, and Sichuan provinces in China, with additional facilities in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and Malaysia. Chongzuo Lee & Man Pulp Manufacturing Limited, which is expected to achieve full production capacity by late 2023, has developed an annual pulp and paper production base of 1.1 million tons with downstream processing capabilities. This integrated complex encompasses bamboo seedling R&D, bamboo plantation base construction, pulp/paper manufacturing, premium tissue paper conversion, as well as express delivery & e-commerce logistics, and innovative supply chain solutions, forming a complete industrial ecosystem.
According to the executive of Chongzuo Lee & Man Pulp Manufacturing Limited, the premium tissue base paper produced at this base is processed into finished consumer products by on-site brand factories before being exported directly to the ASEAN markets, including Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia. Concurrently, the base also imports wood chips from Vietnam as a partial raw material input.
In alignment with China's Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality strategic targets, Chongzuo Lee & Man Pulp Manufacturing Limited has pioneered a biomass energy system within the pulp/paper industry, innovatively converting agricultural and forestry waste into clean electricity. This establishes a comprehensive, full-life-cycle green low-carbon management system that spans raw material procurement, manufacturing, and logistics. Moving forward, Chongzuo Lee & Man Pulp Manufacturing Limited will advance intelligent automation across all processes, creating an industrial ecosystem where AI and manufacturing mutually enhance each other. Its ultimate vision is to develop a forest-pulp-paper industrial cluster characterized by the recycling of renewable resources, ecological energy efficiency, green environmental protection, and technological intelligence.
