Lang Son (VNA) – The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the People’s Committee of the northern border province of Lang Son held a seminar on developing cross-border e-commerce on December 3.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Doan Thanh Son said that the event demonstrates Lang Son's determination to promote e-commerce cooperation with partners, especially Chinese enterprises.

The province vows to create favourable conditions to support domestic and foreign enterprises to learn about investment, cooperation and business on digital platforms, and services such as logistics, import-export, banking and finance, he added.

Director of the Vietnam E-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency (IDEA) Le Hoang Oanh said that the development of cross-border e-commerce must focus on sustainability, improve the legal framework, integrate tax declarations, enhance the management of e-commerce goods imported and exported via express delivery, and prioritise the development and optimisation of logistics and payment systems.

In Lang Son, e-commerce has developed rapidly in recent times. Currently, the province has nearly 21,000 products listed on e-commerce platforms, ranking second nationwide. Over 228,000 agricultural production households have been trained in digital skills, and more than 72% of the adult population has electronic payment accounts.

Lieu Anh Minh, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, stated that Lang Son will implement comprehensive digital transformation, develop a synchronised digital ecosystem with common platforms, and strengthen international cooperation activities to promote trade and connect business exchanges between Vietnam and China.

In addition, the province will enhance the implementation of strategies for developing logistics services and efficiently managing and exploiting the border trade infrastructure already invested in at border gates, with a focus on piloting the building of smart border gates.

A representative from China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region said that in order to promote cross-border e-commerce cooperation between China and Vietnam, Guangxi is actively working to upgrade border gates and ensure smooth customs clearance. He added that the prospects for the development of cross-border e-commerce between the two sides are promising.

On the same day, Lang Son held a workshop to introduce its investment environment to enterprises and investors from Chinese localities.

Import and export turnover through border gates in Lang Son is estimated a𓄧t 66.4 billion USD in 2024, an increase of 27.6% over the previous year, accounting for a significant proportion of the total trade turnover between Vietnam and China./.