China and Vietnam are accelerating the construction of an economic cooperation zone in the two countries' bordering area, aiming at promoting bilateral trades and the development of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA).

The zone comprises a logistics park and a processing park, in which commodities made in China and Vietnam will enjoy the privilege of zero tariffs and no import linkage tax, said sources with Pingxiang city government Wednesday.

With the completion of the project's first phase, four enterprises have started operation in the processing park, and the second phase is now under construction, said a spokesman of the management committee of the zone.

The zone, initiated in 2004, at Pingxiang city, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the bordering Lang Son province of Vietnam, covers an area of 13.4 square kilometers in Guangxi and a combined 1.17 billion yuan invested by the Chinese part.

The project has also been listed in the aid program of United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which promised to invest US$1.5 million in the zone and plans to set up an office to facilitate its management.

China has been the largest trade partner of Vietnam for two years in a row. In 2006, the trade volume between China and Vietnam totaled US$9.95 billion, 21 percent up on the previous year and the bilateral trades are expected to hit US$15 billion by 2010.

(Xinhua News Agency April 4, 2007)