Hanoi (VNA)🌠 – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Chen Gang, member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Secretary of the CPC Committee of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in Hanoi on February 18, reaffirming the strengthened ties between Vietnam and the Chinese locality.

Chen, who is also Chairman of the Regional People's Congress Standing Committee, is visiting Vietnam to attend a New Year meeting between the Party secretaries of Vietnam’s Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Cao Bang and Ha Giang provinces, and China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Welcoming Chen, PM Chinh highlighted the significance of Guangxi’s Party leaders visiting Vietnam for three consecutive years, which shows Guangxi's commitment to deepening friendship and cooperation with Vietnamese localities. Chen expressed his pleasure at visiting Vietnam for the first time, praising the country’s development and reaffirming Guangxi’s strong focus on reinforcing ties with Vietnamese localities, especially the four provinces bordering Guangxi. He pledged that the Chinese side is determined to effectively implement the high-level common perceptions to practically contribute to relations between the two Parties and countries.

Both sides acknowledged the positive progress in collaboration between Guangxi and Vietnamese localities, in line with the growing Vietnam – China Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership and the Vietnam – China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance. This could be seen in increased people-to-people exchanges, expanded economic and trade ties—reflected in a bilateral trade turnover of 42 billion USD, proper border management, improved transport connectivity, and dynamic cooperation in culture, education, and tourism. PM Chinh expressed appreciation for Guangxi's historical ties with Vietnam, noting that it holds many significant landmarks related to President Ho Chi Minh’s revolutionary activities. He also recognised its role as China's leading province in fostering exchanges and cooperation with Vietnam, serving as a gateway between China and ASEAN. The Government leader then encouraged Guangxi and Vietnamese localities to innovate and enhance the quality of their cooperation mechanisms to deliver tangible benefits to the people. Regarding joint work in the time to come, the PM called for accelerated connectivity in transport infrastructure, underscoring the two key standard-gauge railway projects of Lang Son – Hanoi and of Mong Cai – Ha Long – Hai Phong. He also stressed the need to expedite the construction of a smart border gate at the Huu Nghi – Youyi Guan international border crossing, to facilitate the imports of Vietnamese goods into China and third countries, and to strengthen cooperation in science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation. In addition, the leader highlighted the importance of jointly developing large-scale, iconic projects and ensuring effective land border management while fostering vibrant people-to-people exchanges. In response, Chen agreed with the PM’s recommendations and affirmed the vast cooperation potential between Guangxi and Vietnamese localities. He said he hopes that the sides will further strengthen their transport connectivity, particularly railway linkages, and accelerate the development of smart border gates to enhance border goods clearance efficiency. He also proposed advancing cross-border economic cooperation, starting with a pilot industrial cooperation zone between Guangxi and Vietnam’s northern province of Quang Ninh. Furthermore, he revealed a plan to establish a China-ASEAN artificial intelligence cooperation centre in Nanning to promote collaboration with Vietnam and other ASEAN nations in the field. He extended an invitation to Vietnamese leaders to attend the 22nd China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO), scheduled for September 17-21 in Nanning, and sought the Vietnamese Government's support for the event./.