Greater lanes for trade with China

In light of the Agreement and Protocol on Freight and Passenger Transport between Vietnam and China, motorised vehicles of the two countries will be eligible to run on 17 routes near the Vietnam-Sino border and 9 routes deep in the mainland in each other country.

Each country will have 500 car units licensed to go deep in each country’s territory following the coequal principle in each route. Motorised vehicles will face no limitations when crossing two border provinces.

In the near term, the ministries of Transport in both countries will host traffic opening ceremonies to three routes going deep in each country mainland.

Particularly, on August 16 a traffic opening ceremony to a freight transport route running from Kunming in China crossing Hekou/Lao Cai border gates to Haiphong and Hanoi will take place in Kunming city.

Four days later, the Vietnamese side will host traffic opening ceremonies to two freight transport routes from Hanoi crossing Huu Nghi/Huu Nghi Quan (China) border gates to Nanning and Shenzhen cities in China.  

“Delivery of goods between the two countries will be much faster and cheaper with the opening of these international through traffic lines,” said Directorate for Roads of Vietnam’s Transport Legislation Department deputy head Phan Thi Thu Hien.

Vietnam Automobile Transport Association (VATA) chairman Nguyen Manh Hung assumed freight transport would be more vibrant than passenger transport.

VATA’s recent surveys in two Yunnan and Guangxi provinces showed that Guangxi province had many big transport enterprises each having several thousand modern vehicles for long-haul transport whereas big local peers owning above 200 big trucks remain modest in number. Most of local transport firms are small in size with little experience in international transactions.

Besides, bearing high borrowing costs plus import duty, transport fares in Vietnam are dearer than those of China’s, whereas local firms have poor experiences in international logistic services.

In this context chairman Nguyen Manh Hung said VATA would convene urgent meetings with freight transport associations in major goods transport locations Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City sourcing remedies to scale up cooperation among transport firms.

“It is time for [transport] firms to team up to boost strength instead of leading spontaneous and patchy development as well as unhealthy market competition as seen in the past years,” said Hanoi Transport Association chairman Bui Danh Lien.