As Xi’s first overseas visit of the year and, notably, his first to a neighbouring country following China’s Central Conference on Work Related to Neighbouring Countries, the move underlined Beijing’s consideration of developing ties with Hanoi as a priority of its broader foreign policy on its neighbourhood, the journalist assessed.

Vietnam has been Guangxi's largest trading partner for the past 26 years, he said, laying stress on untapped cooperation potential, particularly in the agricultural sector.

The Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) of the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) was convened in Vientiane, Laos, on October 14.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Liu Ning, member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Secretary of the CPC Committee of China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in Hanoi on August 28, asking the Chinese side to enhance cooperation with Vietnam to boost the connectivity of transport infrastructure and soft infrastructure at border gates.

Vietnam is one of the leading countries in Asia in terms of investment for infrastructure development, allocating 5.7% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to projects in this field, said Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN).

Vietnam and India should further strengthen connectivity to record more robust growth in bilateral trade, which is expected to hit 15 billion USD this year and surpass the record the two countries set in 2021, Indian analysts have said.

The Ministry of Transport recently issued a list of wharves at seaports in Vietnam, with the northern city of Hai Phong being home to the biggest number of those facilities.

Vietnam will develop a seaport master plan for 2021-30, with an aim to enhance infrastructure connectivity, reduce logistics costs and promote marine economic development.

Vietnamese products like handicrafts and farm produce, and tourism and transportation services are being showcased in New Delhi, India, within the framework of the fourth ASEAN-India expo that opened on February 21.

Japan has pledged to help enhance infrastructure connectivity among five Mekong sub-regional countries, namely Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

Officials of the ASEAN countries discussed ways to enhance infrastructure connectivity and development in the region at meetings held in Jakarta, Indonesia, on March 14 and 15.