Vietnam has been the top trading partner of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR) for 25 consecutive years, and Vietnam and China have joined hands to build a strategically important Vietnam-China community of destiny, which has given Guangxi an important mission and brought new historical opportunities for its opening-up and development.
Lan Tianli, Chairman of the People's Government of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, made the comment at a press conference held in the capital Beijing on June 12, a correspondent of Vietnam News Agency in Beijing reported. Lan Tianli said that Guangxi and Vietnam are linked by mountains and rivers, geographic proximity and humanistic affinity, with long-lasting traditional friendship and very close exchanges and cooperation.
According to data released by Lan Tianli, in 2023, the import and export turnover between Guangxi and Vietnam reached nearly 254 billion yuan (about 35 billion U.S. dollars), up 29.2 percent year-on-year. In the first five months of this year, the figure stood at 120.82 billion yuan, up 36.8 percent year-on-year.
Lan Tianli said Guangxi will in the future accelerate rail and highway connectivity with Vietnam, deepen cross-border industrial cooperation, and promote cooperation and exchanges in many fields, including culture and tourism.
Specifically, in terms of railroads, the Nanning-Chongzuo high-speed railroad near the Vietnam-China border area has been completed and opened to traffic in 2022, and the Chongzuo-Pingxiang section (bordering Vietnam) is accelerating its construction; and the Fangchenggang-Dongxing railroad has been opened to operation in 2023. In terms of highways, there are 13 highways planned from Guangxi to Vietnam, with seven already completed and six under construction. He proposed to promote Vietnam-China cross-border standard railroad connectivity and carry out research on standard railroads from Dong Dang to Hanoi, and from Mangjie to Ha Long to Haiphong in due course, which will further enhance the level of "hard connectivity" between Guangxi and Vietnam's infrastructures.
In 2023, Guangxi's import and export trade of intermediate goods to Vietnam grew rapidly, ranking at the top of China's national total, and in the first five months of this year, Guangxi's import and export of intermediate goods to Vietnam increased by 46 percent. Guangxi will attract and support more enterprises to settle in Guangxi Pingxiang, Dongxing and other coastal port industrial parks, relying on Vietnam-China smart ports and logistics channels to build a cross-border industrial chain supply chain with complementary advantages and mutual benefits.
At the same time, Guangxi is accelerating the construction of the Vietnam-China border intelligence port, after the completion of the goods can realize 24-hour uninterrupted, unmanned, intelligent customs clearance, Nanning to Hanoi, Vietnam, goods arrive within 24 hours, to the northern border provinces of Vietnam within 12 hours.
In addition, medical teams from Guangxi and Vietnam have worked closely together to launch a border medical treatment channel.
Lan Tianli emphasized that Guangxi will further strengthen the foundation of cooperation between the two sides in the future, enrich the mode of cooperation, and contribute to the consolidation of the traditional friendship between Vietnam and China, among other things.