In 2025, the total fruit import and export value flowing through the Huu Nghi, Pingxiang border gate reached 32.2 billion yuan, with fruit imports alone accounting for 29.6 billion yuan, of which Vietnamese agricultural products represented approximately 70 percent.

According to Lang Thong, Deputy Director of the Department of Services and Commerce of Chongzuo City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Chongzuo and Viet Nam share the same rivers and border each other as close neighbors, with a long history of cross-border economic and trade cooperation. Agricultural trade, he said, serves as the central bridge delivering mutual benefit to both sides. For many consecutive years, Viet Nam has remained Guangxi’s largest trading partner.

As China’s pioneering border city for cooperation and opening-up toward ASEAN, Chongzuo has led the entire region in the scale of its trade with Viet Nam. In 2025, total trade volume between Chongzuo and Viet Nam reached 215.46 billion yuan, up 9.1 percent year-on-year, accounting for 69.2 percent of Guangxi’s total trade with Viet Nam. The sustained growth in bilateral trade reflects not only deepening economic ties but also the increasing sophistication of cross-border supply chain arrangements that have developed over the past decade.

Bac Ninh province, for its part, benefits from favorable natural conditions and is home to distinctive agricultural products with strong recognition both domestically and internationally. Chief among them is the lychee, prized by Chinese consumers for its thick flesh, clean sweetness, juiciness, and distinctive aroma. Each harvest season, large volumes of premium-grade lychees clear customs swiftly through Chongzuo’s border gates, reaching millions of Chinese households and enriching the fruit baskets of consumers across the country.

Beyond lychees, other signature agricultural products from Bac Ninh province are also demonstrating considerable potential in the Chinese market. The vitality of this agricultural trade is not only opening new development opportunities for Bac Ninh’s farming sector but also driving robust growth in Chongzuo’s commercial services and logistics industries.

In recent years, Chongzuo city has continuously improved its customs clearance services and made initial progress in building smart border infrastructure. Through intelligent monitoring equipment and systems, the city has implemented smart management and efficient clearance procedures for import and export vehicles.

Lang Thong highlighted two innovations that have proven particularly effective: the creation of a dedicated “Green Lane for China-ASEAN Agricultural Products” and a “Dedicated Lane for Durian Imports,” both of which enable fresh produce such as Chinese and Vietnamese fruits and vegetables to queue and clear customs rapidly.

The China-ASEAN Fruit Trading Center in Chongzuo is also being accelerated toward completion and commissioning. By continuously strengthening the cross-border trade support system and building a full-service chain network covering customs clearance, logistics, transactions, and warehousing, Chongzuo is laying a solid foundation for the aggregation, trading, and storage of Viet Nam’s signature agricultural products.

“Leveraging opportunities presented by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area Version 3.0, we look forward to deeper and more comprehensive cooperation with Bac Ninh province across four areas,” Lang Thong said.

“First, strengthening production-consumption connectivity, organizing key local enterprises to precisely match the needs of the Vietnamese side and build a stable, efficient trading platform. Second, deepening technical exchange, sharing expertise in lychee variety selection, pest and disease control, and scientific cultivation to jointly drive quality improvements.

Third, expanding industrial cooperation, advancing collaboration beyond fresh fruit trade into deep processing, supporting Viet Nam in processing agricultural products locally, developing high-value-added products, extending the industry chain, and elevating the value chain. Fourth, diversifying trade categories, bringing more high-quality OCOP products and distinctive Vietnamese agricultural specialties into the Chinese market for the shared benefit of both sides.”

He concluded with a statement of direction: “Neighborly friendship is the original driving force; mutual benefit and shared success is the path forward. Chongzuo city will continue to leverage its border hub advantages, optimize the business environment, and do everything in its power to ensure Vietnamese agricultural products clear into China efficiently and reliably. We hope to seize this trade promotion conference as an opportunity to deepen cooperation, and together bring China-Viet Nam cross-border economic and trade cooperation to a new level.”

In 2025, the total fruit import and export value flowing through the Huu Nghi, Pingxiang border gate reached 32.2 billion yuan, with fruit imports alone accounting for 29.6 billion yuan, of which Vietnamese agricultural products represented approximately 70 percent.

According to Lang Thong, Deputy Director of the Department of Services and Commerce of Chongzuo City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Chongzuo and Viet Nam share the same rivers and border each other as close neighbors, with a long history of cross-border economic and trade cooperation. Agricultural trade, he said, serves as the central bridge delivering mutual benefit to both sides. For many consecutive years, Viet Nam has remained Guangxi’s largest trading partner.

As China’s pioneering border city for cooperation and opening-up toward ASEAN, Chongzuo has led the entire region in the scale of its trade with Viet Nam. In 2025, total trade volume between Chongzuo and Viet Nam reached 215.46 billion yuan, up 9.1 percent year-on-year, accounting for 69.2 percent of Guangxi’s total trade with Viet Nam. The sustained growth in bilateral trade reflects not only deepening economic ties but also the increasing sophistication of cross-border supply chain arrangements that have developed over the past decade.

Bac Ninh province, for its part, benefits from favorable natural conditions and is home to distinctive agricultural products with strong recognition both domestically and internationally. Chief among them is the lychee, prized by Chinese consumers for its thick flesh, clean sweetness, juiciness, and distinctive aroma. Each harvest season, large volumes of premium-grade lychees clear customs swiftly through Chongzuo’s border gates, reaching millions of Chinese households and enriching the fruit baskets of consumers across the country.

Beyond lychees, other signature agricultural products from Bac Ninh province are also demonstrating considerable potential in the Chinese market. The vitality of this agricultural trade is not only opening new development opportunities for Bac Ninh’s farming sector but also driving robust growth in Chongzuo’s commercial services and logistics industries.

In recent years, Chongzuo city has continuously improved its customs clearance services and made initial progress in building smart border infrastructure. Through intelligent monitoring equipment and systems, the city has implemented smart management and efficient clearance procedures for import and export vehicles.

Lang Thong highlighted two innovations that have proven particularly effective: the creation of a dedicated “Green Lane for China-ASEAN Agricultural Products” and a “Dedicated Lane for Durian Imports,” both of which enable fresh produce such as Chinese and Vietnamese fruits and vegetables to queue and clear customs rapidly.

The China-ASEAN Fruit Trading Center in Chongzuo is also being accelerated toward completion and commissioning. By continuously strengthening the cross-border trade support system and building a full-service chain network covering customs clearance, logistics, transactions, and warehousing, Chongzuo is laying a solid foundation for the aggregation, trading, and storage of Viet Nam’s signature agricultural products.

“Leveraging opportunities presented by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area Version 3.0, we look forward to deeper and more comprehensive cooperation with Bac Ninh province across four areas,” Lang Thong said.

“First, strengthening production-consumption connectivity, organizing key local enterprises to precisely match the needs of the Vietnamese side and build a stable, efficient trading platform. Second, deepening technical exchange, sharing expertise in lychee variety selection, pest and disease control, and scientific cultivation to jointly drive quality improvements.

Third, expanding industrial cooperation, advancing collaboration beyond fresh fruit trade into deep processing, supporting Viet Nam in processing agricultural products locally, developing high-value-added products, extending the industry chain, and elevating the value chain. Fourth, diversifying trade categories, bringing more high-quality OCOP products and distinctive Vietnamese agricultural specialties into the Chinese market for the shared benefit of both sides.”

He concluded with a statement of direction: “Neighborly friendship is the original driving force; mutual benefit and shared success is the path forward. Chongzuo city will continue to leverage its border hub advantages, optimize the business environment, and do everything in its power to ensure Vietnamese agricultural products clear into China efficiently and reliably. We hope to seize this trade promotion conference as an opportunity to deepen cooperation, and together bring China-Viet Nam cross-border economic and trade cooperation to a new level.”