Lang Son further upholds its potential in the new normal
Lang Son province has a favorable geographical position in boosting economic cooperation and trade with countries in the region and around the world. Over the past years, the province has always tried its best to become an ideal destination for partners and investors.
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Lang Son is well known for its special geo-economic and geo-political position in the Lang Son - Ha Noi - Ho Chi Minh City - Moc Bai economic corridor and the Lang Son - Ha Noi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh national key economic corridor.
At the same time, thanks to the province’s convenient railway and road systems linking Viet Nam’s major economic centers together, in line with two international, one bilateral, and numerous auxiliary border gates, Lang Son has served as a bridge and gateway connecting not only Viet Nam but also ASEAN countries with the Chinese market in the ASEAN - China Free Trade Area, contributing significantly to regional integration of the province.
Well adapting in the current context
As Viet Nam is increasingly boosting its international integration, while thoroughly grasping the Party’s and State’s guidelines and policies on promoting foreign affairs and international integration, over the past time, Lang Son has paid due attention to the implementation of three key pillars, including Party, State and people-to-people diplomacy, taken advantage of favorable international conditions, as well as its potential of a province with a long shared borderline of 231.74 km, connecting Viet Nam with ASEAN countries and China.
Lang Son always attaches considerable importance to developing friendship and cooperation ties with Guangxi’s Zhuang autonomous region and other localities of China. The traditional relationship between the two sides has been strengthened, expanded, deepened and brought about practical benefits, achieving many important results in various fields, such as: economy; border trade; traffic connection, opening and upgrading border gates; border management and crime prevention; transportation; science and technology; agriculture and forestry; healthcare; education and training; and culture, among others, making contributions to promoting socio-economic development and living standards of the two peoples along the shared borderline.
In addition, delegation exchanges by leaders and people of Lang Son and Guangxi’s Zhuang autonomous region at all levels are regularly organized so as to enhance mutual understanding and trust, and strengthen bilateral ties.
The two sides also actively promoted effective forms of cooperation, especially the meeting on the Lunar New Year occasion and the joint working committee between the four provinces of Lang Son, Cao Bang, Quang Ninh, and Ha Giang (Viet Nam) and Guangxi’s Zhuang autonomous region, and exchange mechanism between both sides’ Party organizations, sectors, and border localities. So far, five districts, 12 hamlets and 11 border posts in Lang Son have formed twinning relationship with their Chinese counterparts.
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| Mr. Ho Tien Thieu - Chairman or Lang Son People's Committee congrats the Samsung Hoping School Project. |
Besides, Lang Son also expanded cooperation relations with other Chinese localities; Japanese, Korean, French and Australian partners; international economic and financial organizations; diplomatic representative agencies; international and regional organizations in Viet Nam; and many international organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGO) that are running business via official development assistance (ODA) and NGO projects in the province, in the fields of transportation infrastructure development, agriculture, healthcare, education, land management, environmental protection, sustainable tourism development and improving living standards of people in poor areas.
With a policy of creating a friendly, open, transparent, and attractive business climate; providing the best favorable conditions for businesses, particularly start-ups and innovative companies; contributing to luring more investment capital, Lang Son has achieved many important results in improving the business investment environment and enhancing competitiveness at the provincial and district levels over the past few years. The province has granted investment licenses and issued investment policy decisions for 22 projects with a total capital of 3,236 billion VND since the beginning of the year. Vingroup, Sungroup, FLC, Kosy, Phu Thai, Sovico, and VSIP, etc. are among the significant companies that have invested effectively in the province.
Upholding its advantage of the border gate economy, Lang Son has quickly issued various incentive policies to encourage investment and an open management system to create favorable conditions for domestic and foreign investors to run business. The Dong Dang - Lang Son border gate economic zone, which covers a total area of 394km2 and has been developed into a non-tariff and tariff areas, as well as functional subdivisions such as Border Economic Cooperation Zone, Goods Transshipment Zone, Processing Zone, Industrial Park, and others, provides benefits to the province in the fields of industry, trade, service, tourism, and agro-forestry, among others.
Prospect of recording economic breakthroughs
Since the pandemic began in 2020, the northern border province of Lang Son has been listed among Viet Nam’s provinces facing the spread of the virus. However, under the leadership of the provincial Party Committee and the observation of the People’s Council, the provincial People’s Committee has concentrated on instructing and directing effectively the disease protection and control work.
At the same time, the province has attached importance to implementing measures in a timely manner in order to remove existing and emerging obstacles, boost production and business operations, surmount consequences by natural disasters and diseases, and stabilize people’s lives. Especially, Lang Son has made efforts to prevent the disruption of export-import activities between the country and foreign neighbors via the province’s border gates.
This year, the continuous pandemic continued to pose difficulties for the province’s border gates in managing export-import activities. At present, only four of 12 pairs of border gates are still resuming customs clearance. Nevertheless, thanks to considerable efforts from the whole authorities and people in the province, its economy posed knowledgeable development in comparison to the same period last year. According to a report by the General Statistics Office, Lang Son’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 6.73% in 2021.
The total export-import turnover of goods via the province’s border gates earned 4.27 billion USD, equivalent to 138.6% against set schedule, up 52% as compared with last year’s data. In which, export revenue was 1.37 billion USD or 102.2% against set target, up 12.3%; and import revenue was 2.9 billion USD or 166.7% against set target, up 82.4%.
Notably, the province’s export turnover hit 130 million USD, equivalent to 100% against set target, increasing by 8.3% in comparison with the previous year. Meanwhile, Lang Son’s State budget collection is estimated to reach for the first time over 10 trillion VND in 2021, the highest number ever.
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| Mr. Ho Tien Thieu at the online conference to promote and connect consumption of black jelly products in Lang Son province in 2021. |
At present, the province is focusing on building a comprehensive infrastructure, including the Bac Giang - Lang Son expressway, National Highway 1A, Viet Nam-China railway, National Highway 1B connecting Lang Son and Thai Nguyen province, National Highway 4B connecting Lang Son and Quang Ninh province, and Dong Dang (Lang Son) - Tra Linh (Cao Bang province) expressway, etc., helping tighten the inter-regional connectivity between Lang Son and other localities.
The Resolution of the 17th Party Congress of Lang Son for the term 2020-2025 emphasized four pillars equivalent to four specific action plans that are considered the province’s guiding principles in developing its socio-economy in the coming time.
Firstly, it is necessary to continue the rapid development of the border gate economy, creating a driving force for the province’s economic growth. Secondly, the province will step up agricultural restructuring associated with effectively building new-style rural areas.
Thirdly, Lang Son is to further develop the tourism sector, striving to make it become an important economic sector by 2025 and a spearhead economic sector by 2030. Fourthly, it is required to develop the socio-economic infrastructure, focusing on the infrastructure of transportation, urbanization, and industrial zones and clusters.
In the meantime, Lang Son speeds up progress of ground clearance for several major projects within border gate areas with the aim of improving logistic services and beefing up export-import activities. Specifically, these projects are the Goods Transshipment Zone, the Processing Zone No.1, and the Lang Son Dry Port.
The province also targets to finish planning and starting building infrastructure for industrial zones and clusters covering an area of nearly 1,000 hectares, and gradually promotes the development of large-scale and concentrated industrial-urban-service areas with the total area of 5,500 hectares.
Since the beginning of this year, Lang Son has built a general plan for the construction of the Huu Lung Industrial Complex located in Ho Son and Hoa Thang communes (Huu Lung district) with a total area of 600 hectares. Then the province submitted investment policies for the Government’s approval in order to lure more investment inflows.
Regarding the tourism sector, Lang Son is making efforts to finish compensation for land clearance at the Mau Son cable car and eco-tourism complex, speeding up procedures of investment preparations to carry out a number of important tourism projects, and soon completing draft plans on tourism development orientations in combination with the socio-economic development strategy such as a project on developing Lang Son’s tourism sectors by 2030 and a project on developing night economy in Lang Son city.
In order to take full advantage of its potential and strengths, and to develop its local economy quickly and sustainably, Lang Son has urged the Government to soon issue a resolution on the regional planning process for the 2021-2030 period and complete the formulation of regional planning. They will help provinces build up their inter-regional connectivity and bring requirements of regional planning into their own planning projects.
In addition, Lang Son suggests the Prime Minister to soon ratify adjusting investment policy in the second component project of the Huu Nghi - Chi Lang section under the Bac Giang - Lang Son expressway project, and provide investment capital to upgrade the National Highway 4B connecting Lang Son and Quang Ninh.
Given its available potential, along with dynamic and talented young leaders, Lang Son expects to continuously receive more care and support for policies by the Government in order to further uphold its potential and strengths while using all resources to develop local socio-economy. They are seen as a locomotive for Lang Son’s Party organizations, authorities, and people to record more considerable achievements in the ongoing process of reform and integration.
Chairman of the People’s Committee of Lang Son
