China recently opened its first bioenergy research center in the city of Nanning, the capital of the country's southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences press release, "the research center is set up based on the national guidance on energy and grain security, and will look to cassava, sugar cane, sweet sorghum as the main sources for new energy development". The location of the bioenergy research center in Guanxi seems to be a good choice, because the region has a "rich reserve of cassava, sugar cane, which takes up more than 65 percent of the nation's total". The first cassava-ethanol project plant (200,000 tonnes per year) is also situated in Beihai City, Guanxi. Support for research expertise and facilities will be provided by the Guangxi Academy of Sciences..