Top-ranked border gate system in Vietnam
According to the plans approved by the Prime Minister, Lang Son will develop by maximising its potential, especially its strategic position as an international gateway connecting with the Chinese market. The focus will be on developing and investing in promising sectors, particularly the border economy.
The development goal until 2030 is to build Lang Son into a province with a developed border economy and stable society while simultaneously ensuring national defence, security, and ecological environment. The province also aims to become one of the growth leaders and economic centres of the northern midland and mountainous region and an increasingly important "bridge" in the economic and commercial linkages between Vietnam, ASEAN countries, China, and Europe.
By 2050, Lang Son will play a significant role in defining the national branding for Vietnamese agricultural products and act as a channel to transport high-quality Vietnamese products regionally and globally.
With clear objectives, Lang Son province has mapped the course to develop a border economy and economic zones. The province aims to maintain its position as one of the country's most important land border trade gates. It has implemented smart border gates to serve as key transit points in the China-Vietnam-ASEAN supply chain. Lang Son wishes to become a green border city with a "border urban area" by expanding services for import-export activities, focusing on processing and trading agricultural products.
The province also encourages the development of a border service sector linked to the border economy. It integrates the tourism activities of the border economic zone with the province’s overall tourism vision. It builds and expands large-capacity, diversified warehouses in tune with trading activities and circulation at the Huu Nghi, Dong Dang, Tan Thanh, Chi Ma, and Binh Nghi border gates. The locality has also established rest stops for long-haul truck drivers from southern provinces and ASEAN countries transiting through Lang Son.
Lang Son is keen to develop 12 border gates, with the first phase concentrating on the development of five key gates. In particular, Huu Nghi Border Gate will be the flagship and template frontier gate applying smart technology to Vietnam's road transportation. The plans for Dong Dang Railway Border Gate comprise logistics and modern support services commensurate with those of other ASEAN countries. Meanwhile, the Chi Ma Border Gate will be brought up to scratch while the government considers proposals to upgrade the Chi Ma (Vietnam)—Ai De (China) border gates to full international standards. The warehouses and logistics services for e-commerce at the border gate will also be improved. The same goes for the Binh Nghi Border Gate. The province is finalising proposals to upgrade the Binh Nghi (Vietnam)—Binh Nhi Quan (China) border gate pair to bilateral border gate status. Plans to open Customs clearance and identify dedicated transportation routes in border areas consistent with the planning and coordination with China are also being scrutinised for submission to the government. Meanwhile, the Tan Thanh Border Gate is on its way to becoming an agricultural processing centre for Vietnam, ASEAN countries, and China, thanks to new agricultural product trading platforms.
In particular, Lang Son province will expand the Dong Dang Border Economic Zone into a comprehensive economic zone, combining tourism with other economic sectors. Accordingly, it will focus its investment on completing approved infrastructure projects. This includes non-Customs areas, goods transit areas, export processing zones, border gate areas, service centres, trade, logistics, and other functional areas as planned. The locality is also reviewing investment processes and constructing the economic zone to make timely course changes to ensure economic and social development goals and the country's and region's new development orientations. In addition, Lang Son is preparing adjustments to the border economic zone's scale, boundaries, and functional areas per the province's future spatial development goals. It is striving for the key urbanisation goals that link the development of the economic zone with the expansion of Lang Son City. All these efforts aim to form a new growth spurt in the northern midland and mountainous region.
The Prime Minister requests relevant units to control the progress, improve the quality of theproject, and ensure technical, artistic, and environmental sanitation safety.
Trade gateways with China and Southeast Asia
At Lang Son province’s conference to announce the locality’s planning and investment promotion in 2024, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasised that the province has many distinctive advantages, outstanding opportunities, and competitive edges, especially in the border economy. The government leader also outlined three extremely important tasks for Lang Son when conducting its planning. The tasks require the locality to harness transportation and economic connectivity between Lang Son and other regional provinces and the rest of the country, Vietnam and ASEAN, and China.
Regarding specific tasks and solutions, the Prime Minister urgently requested a detailed timeline for implementing the provincial plan. This should identify key contents, schedules, and resources for implementing programmes and projects. Investment must be prioritised for dynamic, focal point projects that directly influence socio-economic development goals and have a widespread impact. A case in point is the Hanoi - Lang Son high-speed railway with China and the building of smart border gates. During the working trip, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also ordered the commencement of the 11,000 billion VND Huu Nghi - Chi Lang highway project. Once put into operation, this highway will be an important link in the economic corridor from Nam Ninh - Lang Son - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh, creating an arterial route across Asia. As a result, Vietnam will possess greater advantages in becoming a trade exchange gateway with China and Southeast Asia.
While inspecting the upgrading of National Highway 4B through Lang Son province, the Prime Minister highlighted the importance of the project in establishing transportation and economic links between Vietnam and China, the Lang Son—Cao Bang—Quang Ninh regions, and six international border gates with seaports.
Visiting the Huu Nghi International Border Gate, one of the largest international land border gates on the Vietnam-China border, the Prime Minister underlined the importance of the Huu Nghi (Vietnam) and Huu Nghi Quan (China) international border gate pairing in forging friendship, transportation, and economic links between Vietnam and China, China and ASEAN, and Lang Son and Guangxi.
The government leader suggested that agencies and forces at border gates will coordinate closely and proactively carry out and complete assigned tasks according to their functions, powers, and missions. The goal is to strengthen and enhance the friendly relations between Vietnam and China and build a peaceful, stable, cooperative, and developing border area. In addition, relevant units are to realise the joint statement on continuing to deepen and elevate the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, building a Vietnam-China Community with a Shared Future, all while maintaining national defence and security and firmly protecting the independence and sovereignty of the homeland.
With such plans and projects for border economic development, Lang Son is expected to maintain its position as the leading province with its developed road and railway border gate system and as the top transit point bridging China, Vietnam, ASEAN, and other countries worldwide.
