Vietnamese Ambassador to China Pham Thanh Bình (right) receives China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Vice Chairman Liao Pinhuo. — VNA/VNS Photo Công Tuyên

BEIJING – Việt Nam highly evaluates cooperation mechanisms between China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Vietnamese localities, especially with provinces along the shared border, Vietnamese Ambassador to China Phạm Thanh Bình has said.

Receiving a working delegation from China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, led by its Vice Chairman Liao Pinhuo on Thursday, the Ambassador highlighted Guangxi’s pivotal role as a gateway connecting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), particularly Việt Nam, with China. He commended the region’s significant contributions to the recent successful state visit to Vietnam by General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President of China Xi Jinping.

While Việt Nam–China cooperation has continued to grow across a wide range of areas, locality-to-locality collaboration remains a bright spot in the bilateral relationship, the ambassador stated.

In recent years, Guangxi and Việt Nam have fostered strong and effective connectivity in transport infrastructure, particularly in railways and roads, as well as in trade facilitation, investment, and import and export of agricultural products.

Binh noted that there is still considerable potential for further cooperation and suggested both sides fully implement the common perceptions reached by the two countries' senior leaders and the agreements signed between Guangxi and Vietnamese provinces.

For his part, Liao reaffirmed Việt Nam’s strategic importance in Guangxi’s external cooperation strategy. He pointed out that Việt Nam has been Guangxi’s largest trading partner for 26 consecutive years, with bilateral trade growing at an average annual rate of 16.4 per cent.

He also expressed gratitude to the Vietnamese Embassy and Bình himself for their continued support and practical contributions to strengthening cooperative and friendly ties between Guangxi and Vietnamese localities.

At the meeting, the two sides also discussed concrete measures to deepen collaboration, including the development of smart border checkpoints along the Việt Nam–China land border, the promotion of cross-border trade, and the standardisation of inspection and quarantine procedures for agricultural  exports. These efforts aim to advance practical and effective cooperation, support the implementation of common perceptions reached by the two countries' senior leaders, and deliver tangible benefits to the people of both countries. — VNS