The moves are expected to further optimize the business environment in the zone and deepen the economic and trade exchanges between China and Malaysia amid the development of the RCEP, he said.

Pilot banking operations in the China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park alone total 596 million yuan, of which 420 million yuan is for nine cross-border transfers of domestic credit assets and 176 million yuan for four interbank financing businesses. Li said this has saved 1.7 million yuan in costs for enterprises.

The pilot zone will need to push ahead with strengthened coordination and promote its innovative practices throughout sectors to attract more players, he said.

Phua Lan Tat, the president of China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park (Guangxi) Development Co, said the area's development in the past few years has been encouraging.

The joint venture was established in November 2013 to help in the overall development, construction and investment cooperation of the industrial park.

"We were initially focused on developing the industrial park itself when we started out. With the subsequent free trade zone and now the RCEP, we're looking to also further leverage Malaysian businesses, integrate local e-commerce platforms, and grow cross-border trade and global logistics," Phua said.

His group reported consolidated operating income of about 416.52 million yuan for 2020, achieving a total profit of 26.24 million yuan. By the end of 2020, the joint venture had completed or planned to complete 65 investment projects with total investment of about 8.7 billion yuan, of which 49 municipal and other facilities projects amounted to 5.19 billion yuan, and 16 housing construction and other operating projects, 3.52 billion yuan. The company employs 144 people, of which 43 are its own staff and 101 are employees of subsidiaries.

"Malaysia itself has many products. We've also been exploring the opening-up, and accessing more of those opportunities. Beyond the popular durians and bird's nests, there are many other agricultural products like wood and natural resources," Phua said.

In Qinzhou, a bird's nest processing trade base is touted as the first international cooperative production capacity project of its kind. It is positioned as a benchmark project for deepening cooperation between China and Malaysia, as well as new land and maritime industry links under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Nearly 2 tons of imported bird's nest raw materials were handled in the area last year, a nearly twelve-fold year-on-year increase, with output value of 65.93 million yuan.

A national bird's nest and nutritional health food testing laboratory in the zone, affiliated with Qinzhou Customs, covers more than 3,500 square meters and has testing and other equipment worth more than 13.6 million yuan. The facility conducts scientific and technical analysis on the quality and safety of food and agricultural products imported and exported from the Qinzhou area.

He Ri'an, who heads the zone's bird's nest testing lab staff under China Customs, said their work forms a crucial line of defense for animal-related products.

"We check for safety and quality of the nests before they are allowed through our borders," he said.

The bird's nest testing is aimed at a full range of imports and products including salivary acid, protein, heavy metals, nitrites, pathogenic microorganisms and avian influenza.

The lab operates in strict accordance with global standards, aimed at establishing a quality management system in line with national accreditation, certification and food inspection agency assessments. It also functions as a university teaching and research base.

Other products tested in the area include processed food, liquor, fruits and vegetables, grain and cosmetics.

Lan Yuanqing, general manager of the company Guangxi GreenSmart Global, which processes and sells Malaysian bird's nests products in Qinzhou, said the industrial park and port area have significantly helped the industry, which has faced problems such as smuggling and irregular pricing.

"Our Chinese consumers and markets are assured of their products. The benefits for the suppliers are also clear, with the cooperation helping to adequately meet rising demand worldwide," he said.

The industry is also reaping the rewards of innovation and upgrades in Qinzhou's improving global trade and business environment.

The Glyken group, started in Singapore in 2010, has launched an advanced biotechnology facility in Qinzhou to help it extract glycoprotein peptides from bird's nests. The company, which marked its product entry into the Chinese market in late March, said the extracts are absorbed more efficiently and are more beneficial than traditional bird's nests.

Dave Yu, head of the company's global research and development, said it offers "cutting-edge research on bird's nest processing and nutrition applications".

"Glyken Group has made a major strategic decision to explore the Greater China market and brought the results of years of research to Chinese consumers," he said.