Xinhua, BEIJING:  The Hekou Port on the China-Vietnam border has been the scene of an almost ceaseless flow of goods crossing the border this year. When a truck carrying 30 tonnes of coke pulled away from the checkpoint Tuesday, the port chalked up a record 5 million tonnes of cargo this year, over 60 per cent more than the total for all of 2016. Trucks carrying minerals, timber, vegetables and fruit trundle across the border day and night.

Hekou is the busiest China-Vietnam land port. Port officials attribute the healthy throughput mainly to easier customs routines including paperless declarations and a new logistical system that coordinates road, rail and river transport.

But the growth in Hekou is only a small fraction of improved trade and economic cooperation. In the first three quarters, trade between the two countries was up more than 20.5 per cent from last year. China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) expects the amount to reach 100 billion US dollars by the end of the year.