Beijing (VNA) – The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China is stepping up substantive cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI) with Vietnamese localities, focusing on practical needs, building stable cooperation chains and establishing regular and multi-level cooperation mechanisms.
According to the Guangxi Big Data Development Bureau, expanding AI cooperation with Vietnam is being pursued within the framework of the common perceptions reached by the two countries’ senior leaders. This cooperation also takes advantage of Guangxi’s position in linking China with ASEAN.
During his visit to China and Guangxi in April, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and President To Lam expressed a desire to further expand cooperation between Vietnam, particularly border localities, and Guangxi in areas including AI, the bureau said.
At the World Artificial Intelligence Conference 2026 in July, Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping announced initiatives to promote AI cooperation with developing countries, including 5,000 AI training places over the next five years and international AI application cooperation centres with six international organisations, with ASEAN as a focus, it noted.
The Guangxi side said these directions create new room for cooperation and provide a basis for the two sides to develop initiatives suited to local needs, stressing that it prioritises the implementation of AI projects addressing specific requirements of Vietnamese localities.
The China-Vietnam AI Application Cooperation Centre, the first national-level AI cooperation platform between the two countries, opened an exhibition centre in Hanoi in November 2025. A Vietnamese large language model is among the notable outcomes of research and development cooperation.
In April 2026, Guangxi and Hanoi signed a memorandum of understanding and are expediting related procedures. Following systematic surveys in Hanoi and multiple rounds of discussions, the two sides identified 28 cooperation projects, with Hanoi prioritising 10 projects in the initial phase, focusing on developing a “Hanoi urban brain”, an intelligent operations centre (IOC), AI applications in traffic management, streamlined urban governance, urban traffic inspection and disaster management.
Guangxi has also established a regular communication mechanism with Hai Phong for a joint AI working group. Cooperation covers personnel training, developing AI laboratories and AI models for medical imaging diagnosis, digital government platforms, and smart urban and industrial zones. The two sides aim to deliver several key outcomes before a meeting between leaders of Vietnamese localities and Guangxi scheduled for next spring.
The Chinese locality also seeks to build long-term cooperation chains in technology, data governance and human resources training. Universities, research institutes and businesses are encouraged to exchange expertise on localising and adapting AI platform models, developing specialised AI models and sharing practical experience.
On data governance, Guangxi stresses respect for data sovereignty and the laws and regulations of each country, while promoting exchanges on data security governance, data-factor management and AI ethics oversight.
In personnel training, Guangxi combines specialised instruction with field studies for senior Vietnamese officials. In November 2025, it organised an AI training course for senior officials of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, attended by 52 trainees. An AI training course for Vietnamese ministerial-level officials is scheduled for September 6 in Nanning. Guangxi also plans training courses this year for officials from Hanoi and Hai Phong.
Guangxi plans to leverage the China-ASEAN information cooperation zone and the China-Vietnam AI Application Cooperation Centre as regular hubs for technology promotion and project matchmaking, turning these platforms into key hubs for AI cooperation between Guangxi and Vietnamese localities.
The Guangxi Big Data Development Bureau affirmed its readiness to work with Vietnamese localities and relevant agencies to advance substantive AI cooperation, strengthen digital connectivity and contribute to building a closer China-Vietnam community with a shared future./.
VNA
