Strengthening friendship and cooperation between Quang Ninh and Guangxi

The cooperative relationship for mutual development between Quang Ninh province (Vietnam) and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (China) is constantly being strengthened, yielding increasingly practical results. This significantly contributes to building a peaceful , friendly, stable, cooperative, and mutually developing border, making a practical contribution to the overall Vietnam-China relationship at the local level.

The 2024 Joint Working Committee Conference between the four provinces of Vietnam and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China took place in Guangxi.

The solidarity and friendship between Vietnam and China, founded by President Ho Chi Minh and Chairman Mao Zedong and diligently nurtured by successive generations of leaders from both countries, has become a precious shared asset of the two nations. The stable development and significant historical achievements of the Vietnam-China relationship in recent years have given the people of both countries profound confidence in a new, stronger, and more substantive phase of comprehensive strategic partnership and cooperation in the future.

Quang Ninh and Guangxi, with their close geographical proximity, have people from both border regions frequently crossing the border. The Vietnam-China border in Quang Ninh and Guangxi is truly a space for peaceful cooperation, friendship, and mutual development; it is a place with bustling trade and tourism activities, playing an important role in the socio -economic development of the border localities of both countries.

The warm friendship, characterized by both comradeship and brotherhood, has been forged over many generations between the two provinces/regions and continues to flourish through cooperation mechanisms and models at the local level. Particularly in recent years, through the Spring Meeting Program and the Joint Working Committee Conference of the four border provinces of Vietnam (Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Cao Bang, and Ha Giang) and Guangxi (China), the friendly and cooperative relationship between Quang Ninh and Guangxi has become even stronger and more solid, creating an important foundation for socio-economic development, cultural exchange, and improving the material and spiritual lives of the people.

The Quang Ninh Provincial Department of Tourism (Vietnam) and the Guangxi Department of Culture and Tourism (China) signed a cooperation agreement.

In 2024, concretizing the minutes of the 2024 Spring Meeting on building a Vietnam-China community with a shared future holds strategic significance. Cooperation contents agreed upon by provincial and regional leaders within the framework of the 2024 Spring Meeting and the 15th Joint Working Committee Conference, Quang Ninh and Guangxi regularly maintained exchanges of delegations at various levels and sectors, creating favorable conditions for friendly exchanges between sectors, units, and people of both sides. In 2024, Quang Ninh organized 46 working delegations to Guangxi and received and worked with 41 Guangxi delegations. Through the exchange of delegations at the provincial, regional, county, and city levels, as well as specialized agencies, both sides agreed on many cooperation contents and actively implemented these contents in appropriate ways, promoting friendly cooperation and exchanges that are constantly deepening and becoming more practical.

Opening Ceremony of the 2024 China-Vietnam Trade, Tourism and Industry Cooperation Exhibition Week (Dongxing - Mong Cai) at Beitou Tourist Transit Center, Dongxing City (China).   Photo: Mong Cai Information and Culture Center

People-to-people diplomacy activities, in diverse and practical forms, are regularly organized with profound cultural, tourism, and trade events such as the Vietnam-China Friendship Song Contest, the launch of the Lotus Flower publication, singing contests on the Bac Luan River, the Vietnam-China International Trade and Tourism Fair, etc.

Cooperation in key areas between the two provinces/regions is becoming increasingly substantive. Specifically, in the field of trade and investment, import and export activities through the border gates of the two provinces/regions remain stable, with high customs clearance efficiency. The total import and export turnover through the border gates of Quang Ninh province reached 4.42 billion USD. In 2024, Quang Ninh and Guangxi announced the establishment of the Hoanh Mo - Dong Trung bilateral border gate pair, including the Bac Phong Sinh - Ly Hoa customs clearance point, facilitating the flow of goods.

Leaders from Mong Cai City (Vietnam) and Dongxing City (China) participated in a cross-border friendly run.   Photo: Mong Cai Information and Culture Center

In the tourism sector, Quang Ninh and Guangxi have organized exchange programs, coordinated promotional activities, and developed new tourism programs, routes, and products to serve tourists from both sides. This includes successfully restoring the Beihai (China) - Ha Long (Vietnam) sea route; organizing tourism surveys for Famtrip groups between the two sides; resolving difficulties in organizing tourist groups visiting Vietnam through the Mong Cai International Border Gate; reopening self-driving tours; developing a plan for tourism development through the Hoanh Mo (Vietnam) - Dong Trung (China) bilateral border gate pair, including the Bac Phong Sinh - Ly Hoa customs clearance; and supporting the organization of training courses for Quang Ninh tour guides in Guangxi... In 2024, the number of Chinese tourists staying in Quang Ninh reached 551,000. The number of Chinese tourists entering Vietnam through the Mong Cai International Border Gate reached 370,500.

Goods exported to China pass through the Bac Luan II bridge customs clearance point (Mong Cai City).

Along with cooperation in developing border trade, improving the efficiency of import and export activities through border gates, and promoting tourism development, cooperation in several other fields has also been effectively implemented by the governments, departments, and agencies of both sides, especially in the fields of health, agriculture, science and technology, education and training, and border management.

The achievements made so far are the result of the joint efforts of both sides, gradually promoting and developing the relationship between Quang Ninh and Guangxi, making it increasingly deeper, more effective, and more substantive. This contributes to strengthening friendship and political trust, giving the people of the two provinces/regions deep confidence in a new, stronger, and more substantive phase of cooperative relations, making a practical contribution to the overall Vietnam-China relationship at the local level.

Chinese tourists enter Vietnam through the Mong Cai international border gate.

Against the backdrop of the positive development of relations between the two countries entering a new phase with deeper and more substantive cooperation, the authorities, sectors, and people of Quang Ninh province are determined to continuously consolidate and promote the friendly cooperative relationship between Quang Ninh and Guangxi, making it a model within the overall Vietnam-China relationship.

Mr. Ho Van Vinh, Director of the Quang Ninh Department of Foreign Affairs, stated: Based on the unit's functions and duties, in the coming time, the Department will continue to advise the province on effectively implementing the Joint Statement, important agreements and common understandings of the high-level leaders of the two Parties and two States; operate the Spring Meeting mechanism more effectively and substantively; and plan to implement the contents of the joint documents signed and approved at the conferences. The Department will continue to advise the province on promoting cultural exchange activities to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and China and in response to the Vietnam-China Cultural Exchange Year. Along with that, it will continue to closely coordinate and support departments, sectors, and localities in establishing cooperative relationships and effectively implementing specific contents. Particular attention will be paid to cooperation in transportation connectivity, upgrading border gates; cooperation to develop trade, tourism, science and technology development, and digital transformation. Cooperation in the development of healthcare, culture, sports, and border management aims to build a peaceful, stable, friendly, cooperative, and prosperous border.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/that-chat-quan-he-huu-nghi-hop-tac-giua-quang-ninh-va-quang-tay-3344824.html