Huang Jiang, Secretary of the Fangchenggang municipal Party Committee in China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. — VNA/VNS Photo Công Tuyên

BEIJING — Huang Jiang, Secretary of the Fangchenggang municipal Party Committee in China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has expressed confidence that through joint efforts, the China–Việt Nam friendship will keep growing and bilateral cooperation will yield further positive outcomes.

During an open discussion by the Guangxi delegation at the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress of China on Friday, Huang recalled that Chairman of the People’s Government of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Wei Tao led a delegation to Việt Nam on a visit last year, forging broad consensus and securing tangible cooperation outcomes. These have advanced bilateral ties to a phase of simultaneous growth in both scale and quality, creating a notable local example for building a China–Việt Nam community with a shared future.

Huang cited statistics showing that trade between Guangxi and Việt Nam exceeded 300 billion CNY (US$43.5 billion) last year, while cross-border travel surpassed 13 million visits. Economic and trade ties have expanded into higher value-added areas such as smart agriculture and cross-border industrial supply chain. The two sides also established 23 pairs of international sister cities, the highest number among Chinese localities.

In particular, an early-spring meeting last month between the Secretary of the Guangxi Party Committee and leaders of five Vietnamese localities has ushered in a “new golden decade” of cooperation. The signed agreements cover a wide range of areas with substantial content, injecting fresh momentum and opening additional avenues for collaboration. Since last year, Guangxi–Việt Nam ties have not only expanded in volume but also advanced in quality, gradually shifting from a distribution-based economic model to industrial development and digital transformation, the official noted.

Beyond economic links, people-to-people exchange has also ramped up through various cultural and sport activities between border localities. Last year, Guangxi cities, counties, communes, villages and hamlets ran border residents’ festivals and cross-border cycling events with Việt Nam.

Notably, the friendship football tournament between China’s Dongxing and Việt Nam’s Móng Cái has continued uninterruptedly for 31 years. Under the guidance of Secretary of the Guangxi Party Committee Chen Gang, football has served as a bridge for exchanges, with the border event expanded into a competition involving Guangxi and five Vietnamese localities, thus renewing and deepening traditional friendship.

Additionally, the round-the-clock “1369” cross-border medical emergency mechanism has facilitated treatment for nearly 700 critically ill patients, including more than 450 from Việt Nam.

Huang said Fangchenggang will sustain exchanges with Việt Nam’s Quảng Ninh Province while boosting cooperation in personnel training, youth exchanges, and cross-border medical services. The city will also strengthen infrastructure and trade connectivity, study the “Two countries, two industrial parks” model for cross-border industry, and step up connectivity projects such as smart border gates, Bắc Luân III Bridge, and Dongxing–Móng Cái railway, in order to enhance trade efficiency and people-to-people interactions between the two nations. — VNA/VNS