The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Nanning Customs in China’s Guangxi province have agreed to launch a smart border gate on a trial basis to facilitate cross-border trade between the two countries.

At a working session with Nanning Customs on May 30 on measures to promote the trade of farm produce, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said a smart border gate is an urgent matter and he proposed that Nanning Customs soon prepare specific plans.

Guangxi is the largest gateway for agricultural exports from Vietnam to China.

Figures from China Customs show that around $350.4 million worth of agricultural products were imported to China via border gates with Guangxi province in the first four months of this year, accounting for 19.7 per cent of Vietnam’s total agricultural exports to its northern neighbor.