NANNING -- China has signed an agreement with Malaysia to establish a sister port partnership between two major shipping cities as the two countries seeks to rejuvenate the ancient maritime Silk Road.

The Qinzhou Port in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has become a sister port of Kuantan, a port city in Malaysia, following an agreement signed in Nanning city, capital of Guangxi on Monday.

Taking immediate effect, the two ports will cooperate in various fields including shared shipping lanes, logistics, information exchange and talent training, said Li Xinyuan, mayor of Qinzhou city.

The sister partnership between the two ports is part of a plan to establish a network of cooperation among port cities in ASEAN members, Li said.

The two port cities have close economic and trade relationships. China and Malaysia have been constructing sister industrial parks in Qinzhou and Kuantan respectively since 2011. Building sister industrial parks is regarded as an innovative experiment by China and Malaysia in rebuilding the maritime Silk Road.

Southeast Asia has long been an important hub in the historic maritime Silk Road, a commercial route on which China sold silk, ceramics and tea to overseas markets.

Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a 21st century maritime Silk Road during his visit to Indonesia last October.

Qinzhou, the most important container hub on China's southwestern coast, will become a leading city along the 21st century maritime Silk Road, Li said.

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