The rapid delivery of goods from China to neighboring Vietnam can be attributed to several factors, including large-scale warehouses, advanced logistics solutions, quick mobilization of container trucks, and streamlined procedures.

In spite of cross-border delivery, Chinese items are sold at low prices in Vietnam.

After a 10,000-kilometer journey from Ho Chi Minh City to various locations in China, including Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, and Nanning, reporters from Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper found out about the secrets behind the efficient cross-border export operations that have enabled Chinese goods to dominate the Vietnamese market through e-commerce platforms.

Vietnam among China’s leading buyers

Duong, a resident of Ho Chi Minh City, ordered a mini hands-free portable neckband fan from a Chinese online store on e-commerce platform Shopee around midnight one evening.

Expecting to wait up to 10 days for international delivery, she was pleasantly surprised when the product arrived at her doorstep just three days later.

"The delivery was faster than that from stores in Hanoi, and the shipping was free. The fan works well and is really cute," Duong said.

Before reaching her, the fan went through several stages, including transport to a warehouse in Shenzhen, passing through the Pingxiang border gate, which borders Vietnam’s northern Lang Son Province, and then being imported into Vietnam, according to the delivery information provided.

Once in Vietnam, the fan was handed over to a local transport service, transferred to a sorting warehouse in Ho Chi Minh City, and delivered to Duong.

In mid-2024, the Tuoi Tre reporters visited a smart logistics center in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, operated by Best Inc., China’s leading integrated smart supply chain and logistics solutions provider, to explore the country’s logistics operations.

After customers place orders on e-commerce platforms, a vast number of goods from various locations are gathered at the center and then transported thousands of kilometers to Vietnam.

The logistics center is a crucial component of a closed ecosystem, according to a representative of Best Cross-Border, which specializes in cross-border delivery.

Once orders are placed, the transport company confirms the order quantities, handles the transportation, completes customs clearance, and imports the goods into Vietnam.

The items typically reach Vietnamese customers within a few days.

Inside the 3,000-square-meter warehouse, employees check the weight and size of the items, affix labels, and prepare them for shipment to Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries.

Vietnam is consistently the largest recipient of goods from this center, according to the representative.

The warehouse serves a variety of customers, including Chinese firms operating in Vietnam, Chinese individuals and companies running stores on Vietnamese e-commerce platforms, and the platforms themselves.

Goods imported into Vietnam at night, delivered to customers by morning

A Chinese driver said that he drives a container truck loaded with goods ordered via e-commerce platforms to Vietnam several times a week.

He revealed that he is allowed to maintain a minimum speed of 80km per hour on smooth expressways.

As per a delivery process, a package began its journey from China to Vietnam on the afternoon of July 3. After covering approximately 800km, the container truck carrying the package arrived at a Vietnamese border gate the next morning.

All import procedures were completed by the afternoon.

A Vietnamese transport company then received the package, sorted the items by July 6, and prepared them for delivery to customers in Da Nang City, central Vietnam.

It only took three days to transport goods from the Chinese warehouse to Vietnam, despite the long distance.

For even faster delivery, Chinese sellers can directly transport goods to the border gate and hand them over to Best Cross-Border, the company responsible for importing the goods into Vietnam.

In this scenario, goods cross the border at night and are delivered to Vietnamese customers by the next morning.

Speed at a warehouse in Vietnam

Thinh, a 48-year-old Vietnamese driver, has been working as a container truck driver for 20 years.

He said that as online shopping has surged, his income has increased thanks to the steady work.

Each day, Thinh drives nearly 300 kilometers, transporting goods from the Huu Nghi border gate in Lang Son Province, northern Vietnam to Best Express' classification center in Bac Ninh Province, about 140km away.

Once a truck arrives at the 45,000-square-meter center, staff quickly gather to unload the goods, which are then automatically sorted.

By the next day, the items are arranged in smaller vehicles, ready for delivery to customers.

Resorting to fast delivery to please customers

Before reaching buyers, Chinese goods must go through several steps, including transportation from warehouses in China to the Vietnamese border gate and the time-consuming import procedures.

T., a resident of Ho Chi Minh City, ordered a smartphone cover from a Chinese seller on an e-commerce platform and received it within four days.

Similarly, on July 28, he ordered a MacBook case from a Chinese store on Shopee for VND474,699 (US$18.8), which was VND200,000 ($7.9) cheaper than the price in Vietnam.

The case arrived on August 1.

In many instances, Chinese goods are delivered to Vietnamese customers within two or three days after they placed their orders, especially when the items are already stocked in warehouses in Vietnam.

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