(Yicai) June 19 -- Pingxiang, a city in China's southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has become a hub for cross-border live e-commerce targeting Vietnam thanks to the advantages of neighboring the Southeast Asian country and cultural affinity.

More than 30 hosts speaking Vietnamese are based in Pingxiang's cross-border live e-commerce base set up in April last year, a source from the base told Yicai. They present Chinese cosmetics, clothing, small home appliances, 3C (computers, communications, and consumer electronics), and other products to customers in Vietnam, working on shifts over the day and streaming on TikTok Shop, Shopee, Lazada, and other popular platforms, the person added.

Pingxiang has established an association of cross-border e-commerce, hoping to cultivate a cross-border ecosystem with integrations of warehouse logistics, host training, supply chain services, import and export trade, and other supply chain resources.

Cosmetics and clothing are the best-selling made-in-China products at the base, said Peng Yunfan, deputy secretary general of the association. Products sold early in the morning from the base's live rooms can reach Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, on the same day and southern Ho Chi Minh City in about three days, Peng noted.

It is very normal to have thousands of people in live rooms, a Vietnamese live host, who found a sense of belonging in this career, told Yicai, adding that the number even reaches tens of thousands when there are promotions.

The number of parcels entering Vietnam from China reaches on average four to five million a day, worth between VND100,000 and VND300,000 (USD3.93 and USD11.79) each, noted Le Quang Manh, chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee of the National Assembly.

Neighboring China and having cultural affinity, Vietnamese people have greatly accepted this new shopping method, according to an analyst. Pingxiang's geographical advantages and familiarity with the business environment also facilitated the development of cross-border live e-commerce, he added.

Pingxiang cross-border live e-commerce imports and exports surged 467 percent to CNY3.3 billion (USD454.8 million) in the four months ended April 30 from a year earlier. The Vietnamese e-commerce market will likely be worth USD39 billion next year, versus USD25 billion last year, with its fast growth making it the second-largest market in Southeast Asia.

However, the Vietnamese government has begun tightening regulations with the development of cross-border live e-commerce. The country's Finance Minister Ho Duc Phoc proposed adopting a 10 percent value-added tax on small cross-border e-commerce packages to adapt to the market's development trend.

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, Martin Kadiev