Vietnam - China border trade activities see rapid recovery

According to the forecast given by local officials, this year’s trade turnover at the border gate may exceed pre-pandemic levels.

Border trade activities going through the Mong Cai international border gate in Vietnam and Dongxing in China has become increasingly brisk once up again.

Cross-border trade and the number of people entering and exiting through Dong Hung border gate is constantly increasing, showing hugely positive signs of recovery after the negative impacts of COVID-19, said Chen Xiao, director of the Dong Hung City Border Gate Service Center in Guangxi, in a recent interview with a VOV reporter based in China.

Chen Xiao said, “During the first quarter of 2023, the transaction volume at Dongxing border market reached 5.6 billion yuan, up 219% over the same period from last year with a very strong growth momentum. As of May 17, the transaction volume has hit 8.8 billion yuan. It is expected that this year's border trade turnover will exceed the pre-pandemic level of 17.6 billion yuan.”

Goods imported through Dong Hung border market are primarily agricultural and aquatic products, with an average transaction turnover of 80 million yuan, equal to VND 266 billion per day. In particular, January 15 alone saw cross-border trade surpass 110 million yuan, equivalent to nearly 367 billion yuan, for the first time.

Explaining this level of growth, Chen Xiao said that, after China moved to adjust its own anti-pandemic measures, the cost of transporting and exporting goods through Dongxing border gate decreased significantly. In addition, Chinese consumer demand decreased significantly, while the consumer demand of the Vietnamese side also increased sharply.

Furthermore, the Chinese Government is carrying out many policies aimed at reviving rural areas and boosting the development of border areas. These are favourable conditions for both nations as they seek to promote border trade activities with rapid development in the post-pandemic era.

Moreover, according to the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade, in early March Chinese Customs published an updated list of locations eligible to import food according to their regulations.

In particular, Dongxing border gate of China and Vietnam’s Mong Cai border gate in Quang Ninh province officially became eligible for food imports.

Thus, along with the Thuy Khau-Ta Lung border gate pair, the Dongxing-Mong Cai border gate pair has become one of two road border gates with Vietnam that are allowed to import food from Guangxi, with the capacity of monitoring and managing food imported through this area reaching a maximum of 200,000 tonnes per year.

After being put into operation, this will become one of the food import border gates from the country and other ASEAN member states into China to serve the food processing and aquaculture fields of Guangxi and other neighbouring localities.