Truck after truck, laden with agricultural products, enters the border from Vietnam; truck after truck, filled with electronic components and other products, heads to Vietnam in a constant stream… Pingxiang Friendship Pass in Guangxi, as the most convenient land route from China to Vietnam and even the ASEAN countries, is bustling with activity.
Recently, the “Open and Shared, Diverse Pingxiang” — 2024 Overseas Media Tour in Pingxiang event was held, co-organized by the Publicity Department of the CPC Pingxiang Municipal Committee and the Guangxi Branch of China News Service. More than 20 representatives from mainstream overseas media, Chinese-language media, and positive-energy online media influencers from Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas gathered in Pingxiang, known as the “South Gate of China,” to experience the vibrant border trade and delve into the dynamic vitality of Pingxiang’s open development.
“Open the door and you’re in Vietnam; take a few steps and you’re in ASEAN.” Located at the southern border of China and bordering Vietnam, Pingxiang City has a border line of 97 kilometers and is known as the “South Gate of China.” In recent years, Pingxiang City has continuously expanded its openness to the outside world, promoted the facilitation of customs clearance at ports, vigorously developed port economy, and provided strong support for prospering the border and enriching the people.
The Friendship Pass is China’s largest land port for the import and export of fruits. To actively adapt to the rapidly increasing customs clearance demands, the Friendship Pass has implemented measures such as peak-hour staggered customs clearance and extended customs clearance hours. Based on the situation of vehicles waiting for inspection, the types of channels are dynamically adjusted. While implementing strict inspections, initiatives such as a “green channel” for imported fruits, “7×24-hour” appointment customs clearance, and rapid laboratory testing have been put in place, significantly reducing the import customs clearance time for perishable goods like ASEAN fruits with short shelf lives.
Pingxiang strives to create a higher-quality business environment by upgrading the functions of its ports: this year, it has promoted the expansion of the China-Vietnam Friendship International Port at Friendship Pass to include the official operation of the Puzhai-Xinqingand Nongyao-Gunan passages, enhancing the customs clearance capacity of the Friendship Pass.
Currently, at the site of China’s first cross-border smart port—the China-Vietnam Friendship Pass—Friendship Cargo Channel Smart Port project, construction workers are busily engaged in their tasks. After more than a year of construction and development, the project has entered a comprehensive sprint phase, with the Chinese section expected to commence trial operations by December 31st. The vision of unmanned and intelligent cross-border transportation is about to become a reality at the Friendship Pass port.
The China-Vietnam Friendship Pass—Friendship Smart Port project, based on satellite navigation and 5G technology, utilizes unmanned transport vehicles and automated lifting equipment, is equipped with intelligent inspection systems, and leverages a smart command and dispatch platform to achieve uninterrupted 24-hour unmanned and intelligent customs clearance at the port. Once completed, the Friendship Pass port, as the largest and most convenient land port connecting China to ASEAN countries, will further highlight its advantages, and will further build an efficient and convenient cross-border port logistics system, effectively serving the stable development of the China-ASEAN industrial and supply chains.
Leveraging its geographical advantages, resource endowments, and market potential, Pingxiang has attracted numerous domestic and international merchants to engage in cross-border fruit trade. In August 2023, with the goal of “buying from the whole country, selling to ASEAN; buying from ASEAN, selling to the whole country,” the China-ASEAN (Chongzuo) Fruit Trading Center was launched in Pingxiang.
The China-ASEAN (Chongzuo) Fruit Trading Center (core area) project is planned to cover a total land area of approximately 488 mu, with a total investment of 1.45 billion yuan (RMB, same below), operating through multiple channels and business formats to create a specialized fruit market. Currently, the center has essentially achieved functions such as product aggregation and distribution, online and offline transactions, smart logistics, e-commerce, and exhibition promotion.
Pingxiang City has also seized the opportunity presented by the national implementation of the “Internet Plus” strategy, vigorously promoting the development of cross-border e-commerce, which is growing rapidly in the city. Inside the Pingxiang cross-border e-commerce live broadcast base, there is a constant hum of sales pitches, with hosts using Vietnamese to sell Chinese goods to the Vietnamese market. Relying on the development of e-commerce formats along the China-Vietnam border, everyday items and industrial electrical appliances made in China are exported from the Guangxi border and sold to ASEAN countries.
Pingxiang, leveraging its geographical advantages, resource endowments, and market potential, has attracted numerous domestic and international merchants to engage in cross-border fruit trade. By seizing the national opportunity of implementing the “Internet Plus” strategy and vigorously promoting the development of cross-border e-commerce, Pingxiang has fostered an “ecosystem” for cross-border e-commerce. Relying on the settlement of e-commerce enterprises in the local area, it has created a cross-border e-commerce industrial cluster area that integrates functions such as procurement, cold chain, and warehousing. Cross-border e-commerce has become a new driving force for the economic development of Pingxiang.
In recent years, Pingxiang has fully capitalized on its border advantages and utilized ASEAN resources to vigorously develop on-site processing industries. It has constructed border transnational parks such as the SanuoCross-Border Electronic Industry Demonstration Park, accelerating the aggregation of upstream and downstream industrial chains in border areas. According to statistics, there are 73 large-scale industrial enterprises in the city. From January to October of this year, the output value of these enterprises above the designated size reached 6.777 billion yuan, marking a year-on-year increase of 23.83%.
