Nguyen Quoc Truong, from Vietnam’s ministry of planning and investment, called for closer cooperation between China and Vietnam in transportation and infrastructure.

He was speaking at the ASEAN International Commerce Culture Festival in Chongzuo, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on April 23.

Trade between China and Vietnam hit $40 billion in 2012 and is expected to reach $60 billion by 2015. He does not think current trade matches either expectations or potential.

The two land routes, from Kunming to Haiphong and from Nanning to Hanoi, are vital trade arteries.

But the conditions of roads in Vietnam are so poor that it is very difficult for trucks carrying containers to run on the narrow and winding roads in mountainous areas.

Vietnam needs more investment from China and other countries to improve its infrastructure. The Vietnamese government is reforming its investment restrictions on private capital for transportation projects.