Consolidating the Vietnam-China cooperation foundation in a new stage

The event was co-organized by Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Government of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (China), with the participation of Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, Guangxi Chairman Wei Tao, Minister-Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam Wu Guoquan, along with leaders of ministries, local authorities and hundreds of enterprises from both countries.

In his opening remarks, Wei Tao, Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, emphasized that the conference was taking place at a particularly important moment, as the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) 3.0 had just been signed, opening major opportunities for the Vietnam-China border region.

“Today’s event is not only a forum for trade promotion but also a concrete action to materialize the common understanding reached between the top leaders of the two Parties and States. Guangxi will continue to promote its role as a gateway and make stronger contributions to the strategic cooperation process between China and Vietnam,” Wei Tao affirmed.

In the first ten months of 2025, total trade between Guangxi and Vietnam reached 255.2 billion yuan, up 8.4% year-on-year. Guangxi has also opened 34 container transport routes linking to Vietnamese ports, enhancing cross-border logistics capacity. Vietnam has been Guangxi’s largest trading partner for 26 consecutive years, and the two sides have formed a strategic cooperation relationship closely connecting trade, investment and logistics.

Highlighting Guangxi’s role as China’s “southern window,” Wei Tao stated that the region was entering its best development stage ever, serving as a trading hub connecting the 1.4-billion-population Chinese market with nearly 700 million ASEAN consumers, and acting as a key node in major economic corridors.

“Guangxi will step up infrastructure investment and promote cooperation with Vietnam in high technology, green trade and the digital economy, Vietnam is a close neighbor and China’s comprehensive strategic partner,” He said.

Minister-Counsellor Wu Guoquan: “This is the best period of bilateral cooperation”Speaking at the conference, Wu Guoquan, Minister-Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam, affirmed that economic and trade relations between the two countries had developed strongly and substantively over the past two decades.

“China has been Vietnam’s largest trading partner for more than 20 years, while Vietnam is China’s top trading partner in ASEAN. We are witnessing the best period of cooperation between the two neighboring economies sharing common development aspirations,” Wu Guoquan said.

In 2024, bilateral trade exceeded USD 260 billion for the first time, accounting for nearly one-third of Vietnam’s total import-export turnover. In the first ten months of 2025, bilateral trade reached USD 240.7 billion, up 13.1% year-on-year.

China is also one of Vietnam’s largest investors, with around 5,000 projects totaling more than USD 30 billion. In the first ten months of this year alone, new investment from Mainland China and Hong Kong reached USD 4.59 billion, accounting for 32.6% of Vietnam’s newly registered FDI, ranking first among 87 countries and territories.

Wu Guoquan emphasized that trade and investment are the two key pillars creating new momentum for Vietnam-China cooperation.

“Both sides should take advantage of their complementary strengths and enhance cooperation in the digital economy, green development and innovation. Each successful business partnership is a bridge strengthening the friendship between our two peoples,” he noted.

Strategic cooperation in three directions

During the conference, leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and the Government of Guangxi witnessed the signing of several memoranda of understanding in key areas such as trade, investment and industry.

Building on positive cooperation results, Chairman Wei Tao proposed three new strategic directions to deepen economic cooperation:

First of all, building modern cross-border infrastructure systems, including the Baise-Hanoi Expressway, smart border gates, logistics centers and one-stop cross-border transport models, helps Vietnamese goods reach deeper into the Chinese market.

Second, strengthening cooperation in high technology, especially artificial intelligence, the digital economy, e-commerce and smart logistics, aiming to build a Vietnam-China digital economic corridor and new digital-era value chains.

Third, joint development of strategic industries, such as electronics, new energy, electric vehicles, textiles and clean food, toward modern, green and sustainable supply and production chains.“Vietnam and Guangxi share the same development aspirations based on innovation. We are not only cooperating in trade, but also jointly shaping the region’s digital future,” Wei Tao emphasized.

This conference is seen as vivid evidence of the win-win cooperative spirit between Vietnam and China, especially Guangxi, a border region closely connected with northern Vietnam.

Within the program, leaders from the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Guangxi also visited an exhibition on AI technology and smart electric vehicles of Guangxi, symbolizing a direction of cooperation in innovation and green transformation between the two countries.