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General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and State President To Lam on April 16 met with Chen Gang, member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Secretary of the CPC Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as part of his ongoing state visit to China.
Congratulating Guangxi on its development achievements, General Secretary and President Lam expressed his confidence that the region will become a modern, prosperous and beautiful socialist autonomous region. He appreciated Guangxi’s role as a “rear base” during Vietnam’s struggle for national independence, noting that 85 years ago President Ho Chi Minh returned to Cao Bang from there to directly lead the Vietnamese revolution. He showed his hope that Guangxi will continue to promote its friendly ties, leverage its geographical proximity, play a leading role, and create breakthroughs in strategic connectivity with Vietnamese localities.
Chen, for his part, emphasised that Vietnam is a close neighbour, trusted friend and one of Guangxi’s most important partners. He affirmed that the Party organisation and authorities of the autonomous region attach great importance to friendship and cooperation with Vietnamese localities; and will continue to take the lead in thoroughly implementing the important common perceptions reached by the two top leaders, thereby deepening cooperation and friendship between China and Vietnam.
Both sides said they are satisfied with the positive developments in exchanges and collaboration between Vietnamese ministries, sectors and localities, and Guangxi in recent years, particularly the frequent all-level contacts, and growing cooperation in trade, science and technology. Vietnam has remained Guangxi’s largest trading partner for 27 consecutive years.
Regarding future cooperation, the Vietnamese Party and State leader proposed Guangxi and Vietnamese localities create breakthroughs in five strategic areas of connectivity, including development policies, economic and trade ties, logistics infrastructure, science and technology, and social foundations.
Accordingly, the top Vietnamese leader expressed his hope that Guangxi would effectively promote the “early spring meeting” mechanism among Party Secretaries of border provinces and regions, expand cooperation with other Vietnamese localities, and share experience in local planning and development policies.
He also called for enhanced exchanges and deeper economic linkages, particularly in trade and infrastructure, ensuring smooth customs clearance and aligning bilateral trade with infrastructure, logistics, supply chain and market connectivity. Priority should be given to accelerating multimodal transport links by rail, road and sea, with particular emphasis on railway cooperation, including the Lang Son–Hanoi and Mong Cai–Ha Long–Hai Phong standard-gauge lines.
Regarding science and technology connectivity, the General Secretary and President proposed that both sides strengthen cooperation in the application of artificial intelligence, while implementing projects in Vietnam in the areas of green agriculture, clean energy, renewable energy and high-tech processing.
He also expressed a desire for closer coordination in effectively managing the land border, promptly addressing outstanding and emerging issues, facilitating people-to-people exchanges, and fully tapping tourism potential in support of the Vietnam–China Tourism Cooperation Years 2026–2027.
Expressing strong agreement with these key directions, Chen affirmed that Guangxi would develop concrete action plans to implement the shared perceptions by the two top leaders. He noted his hope to further promote substantive cooperation across sectors, particularly in transport infrastructure connectivity, especially railways, and to enhance collaboration with Vietnam in high-tech fields where Guangxi is focusing on, such as AI and big data.
Highlighting that high-quality Vietnamese agricultural products are well received by consumers in Guangxi, Chen affirmed the region’s readiness to increase imports of such products, not only to meet local demand but also for distribution to other parts of China via Guangxi.
He also proposed accelerating the pilot development of smart border gates to facilitate trade flows, while strengthening friendly exchanges and mutual understanding between the people of Guangxi and Vietnamese localities.
