Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Lan Tianli. — VNA/VNS Photo

BEIJING — Việt Nam has been the largest trading partner of China’s Guangxi province for the past 25 years, and the building of a community with a shared future that carries strategic significance between the two countries has given Guangxi an important mission and brought about new historical opportunities for its development.

Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Lan Tianli, stated this at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday, during which he noted that thanks to geographical and cultural proximity, the traditional friendship between Guangxi and Việt Nam is becoming stronger and co-operation and exchanges closer.

Lan reported that trade between Guangxi and Việt Nam neared 254 billion yuan (approximately US$35 billion) last year, and over 120.8 billion yuan in the first five months of this year, up 29.2 per cent and 36.8 per cent year-on-year, respectively.

He said that with the advantage of being the only province of China connected to ASEAN by both land and sea, Guangxi will accelerate its connectivity with Việt Nam in terms of rail and road, and expand cross-border industrial cooperation, and exchanges in culture and tourism.

According to the official, the Nanning-Chongzuo high-speed railway near the China-Việt Nam borderline, opened to traffic in 2022, and the construction of the Chongzuo – Pingxiang section, which is adjacent to Việt Nam, is being sped up. Currently, Guangxi plans 13 highway routes to Việt Nam, with seven of those having been completed.

Promoting the construction of cross-border standard-gauge rail connectivity as stated in the joint statement between the two countries will further enhance the "hard connectivity" of infrastructure between Guangxi and Việt Nam, he said.

Last year, the trade of intermediate goods between Guangxi and Việt Nam grew rapidly, ranking first in China's total import and export turnover.

In the past five months, the figure surged by 46 per cent. Therefore, Guangxi will attract and support more companies to enter border industrial zones such as Pingxiang and Dongxing, basing on smart logistics and border channels between the two countries to create cross-border supply and industrial chains with complementary advantages and mutual benefits, the official added.

Guangxi is speeding up the construction of smart border checkpoints in border areas shared between the two countries. Once completed, goods will be processed through smart, unmanned, uninterrupted custom systems, and goods from Nanning to Hà Nội will be delivered within 24 hours, and to the four northern border provinces of Việt Nam within 12 hours.

Guangxi will continue to diversify methods of exchange and cooperation with Việt Nam, contributing to strengthening the traditional friendship between the two nations, he affirmed. — VNS