Vietnam, Guangxi (China) strengthen economic and trade cooperation
Minister Nguyen Hong Dien held talks with Guangxi Chairman Wei Tao on November 26 to boost trade and advance new cooperation areas between the two sides.
On the afternoon of November 26, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien held talks with Comrade Wei Tao, Chairman of the People’s Government of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, during his working visit to Vietnam.
The Vietnamese delegation included representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Foreign Market Development Department, Trade Promotion Agency, E-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency, Electricity Regulatory Authority, Import-Export Department, Industry Agency), the Consul General of Vietnam in Nanning (Guangxi), representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Northeast Asia Department), and leaders of Industry and Trade Departments from four northern border provinces Quang Ninh, Tuyen Quang, Lang Son, and Cao Bang.
The Chinese delegation included Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Xiong Bo, leaders of Guangxi’s departments and localities such as the Government Office, Department of Commerce, Foreign Affairs Office, Department of Transport, Department of Industry and Information Technology, Department of Culture and Tourism, and leaders from Fangchenggang, Chongzuo, Baise, along with major state-owned enterprises of Guangxi.
During the talks, the two leaders exchanged views on multiple orientations and solutions to deepen cooperation between Vietnam and Guangxi.
Minister Nguyen Hong Dien congratulated Comrade Wei Tao on being approved by the Communist Party of China Central Committee to serve as Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in July, and on being elected to the CPC Central Committee in late October. The Minister expressed confidence that under Wei Tao’s leadership, Guangxi would continue to play a pioneering role in strengthening the traditional, substantive, and sustainable cooperative relationship between Vietnam and China, particularly between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and Guangxi authorities.
Minister Nguyen Hong Dien reaffirmed that the Ministry always attaches great importance to building and advancing cooperation with the Guangxi Party Committee and Government. He highly appreciated the significance of Chairman Wei Tao’s working visit to Vietnam together with a large delegation of Guangxi authorities and enterprises, demonstrating Guangxi’s strong regard for economic and trade cooperation with Vietnam.
Chairman Wei Tao, for his part, emphasized that Vietnam is one of Guangxi’s most important partners. He expressed admiration for Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements in recent years and noted the continuous development of economic-trade ties between Vietnam and Guangxi. He affirmed that Guangxi places special importance on economic and trade cooperation with Vietnam and hopes that the talks will help implement the shared understandings reached by the top leaders of both countries, advance key cooperation projects, and contribute to building a Vietnam-China community with a shared future of strategic significance.
To strengthen economic and trade cooperation with Vietnam, Chairman Wei Tao proposed several measures, including: (i) facilitating customs clearance and encouraging Lang Son Province to soon identify an implementing unit to build smart border gates, complete construction, and launch the interconnected smart-gate system; (ii) accelerating research on new cross-border economic cooperation models; (iii) jointly carrying out diverse trade promotion activities; and (iv) enhancing cooperation in emerging sectors such as electronics, textiles, new energy, new materials, and food processing.
Minister Nguyen Hong Dien welcomed and agreed with Chairman Wei Tao’s proposals, and added several orientations to further deepen economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Guangxi, towards expanding trade scale and gradually balancing Vietnam-China trade.
Specific measures include: (i) urging central ministries of China to soon revise regulations governing border residents’ goods exchange to ensure stability and reduce risks in transactions for businesses and traders of both sides; (ii) coordinating to organize business delegations and buyer missions to major trade fairs in Vietnam; (iii) strengthening Vietnam-Guangxi electricity connectivity; and (iv) jointly developing the 2026 Priority Task List to implement the 2024-2026 Action Plan.
After the talks, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien and Chairman Wei Tao attended and delivered remarks at the Vietnam-China (Guangxi) Investment, Trade and Business Networking Conference, co-organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Guangxi Government.
According to China Customs, in the first 10 months of 2025, Vietnam-Guangxi trade turnover reached USD 35.7 billion, up 7.44%. Guangxi’s exports to Vietnam reached USD 29.5 billion (up 12.13%), while imports from Vietnam totaled USD 6.2 billion (down 10.5%). Trade through land border gates between Vietnam and Guangxi accounted for over 95% of total trade across the Vietnam-China land border.
