Điện Biên has a national border adjacent to Laos that is over 414km long, and a border with China of nearly 41km. On the Vietnam - Laos border line, there are currently the Tây Trang - Pang Hốc international border gate, the Huổi Puốc - Na Son national border gate, and the Si Pa Phìn - Huổi Lả auxiliary border gate. On the Vietnam - China border line, the A Pa Chải - Long Phú opening is completing procedures to open a bilateral border gate.

Điện Biên is currently the only provincial locality in the Northwestern region with an airport directly connecting to the country’s two major economic centers, Hanoi and Hồ Chí Minh City, creating an advantage in multimodal transport. When combining road, air, and the border gate system, Điện Biên has the conditions to become a transshipment point for goods and culture between the Northern Vietnam economic region and Northern Laos provinces, Thailand, and Yunnan province (China). In that overall picture, the A Pa Chải border gate is considered an important “piece of the puzzle” to complete the multi-directional trade space of the province.

The A Pa Chải opening is located at Tá Miếu village, Sín Thầu commune, about 260km from the provincial center. From a connectivity perspective, A Pa Chải acts as a gateway connecting Điện Biên province with Yunnan province (China) via National Highway 4H. This route, approximately 350km long, is a key belt route in the National Road Network Planning for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2050 approved by the Prime Minister. When synchronized, this transport route will contribute to reducing logistics costs and shortening the journey for transporting goods from Northwest Vietnam to the Chinese market and vice versa.

Up to now, Điện Biên province has completed internal procedures regarding the official opening of the A Pa Chải border gate according to the law. At the same time, recognizing the role of transport infrastructure, authorities on both the Vietnam and China sides soon coordinated surveys and agreed on the connection plan in the area. To date, the Vietnam - China Land Border Joint Committee has ratified the plan for building the transport connection works and the connection location. Both sides also agreed to start construction in early April 2026. When this transport route is completed, A Pa Chải will no longer be a remote “endpoint” but will step-by-step become the starting point of a cross-border logistics chain, creating momentum to attract traders and businesses.

Along with the transport connection, Điện Biên province has completed the 1/5,000 scale Construction Zoning Planning and the 1/500 scale Detailed Planning for the A Pa Chải border gate functional area. Items regarding site clearance, technical infrastructure, and works serving border gate operations are being promoted for investment in the correct order. According to the cooperation plan for the 2025 - 2029 period, both sides agreed on the motto of parallel deployment of planning, construction, and commercial operations.

According to Nguyễn Văn Dũng, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade, to create favorable conditions for trade, the Department of Industry and Trade has advised the Provincial People’s Committee to seek opinions from the Government and ministries and sectors to allow cross-border buying, selling, and exchange of goods right before the official opening time. The ministries and sectors basically agreed with this policy.

It is known that in 2025, the total import-export and border trade value of Điện Biên was estimated to reach USD 141.8 million, of which exports were about USD 96.6 million. Construction materials and agricultural products such as rubber, rice, tea, macadamia, and sugarcane are in high demand from the Chinese market. Currently, Điện Biên is the third-largest Arabica coffee growing region in the country with over 8,100ha, an output of about 6,140 tons, oriented to expand to 20,000ha by 2030. This is an important room for growth to form an agricultural value chain associated with exports through the A Pa Chải border gate.

In mid-December 2025, the Điện Biên Department of Industry and Trade and the leadership of Jiangcheng county, Pu’er city, Yunnan province (China) had a working session at Điện Biên Phủ ward, Điện Biên province. Hồ Hưng Hoa, Secretary of the Jiangcheng county Party Committee, affirmed that the Chinese side attaches great importance to the development of the A Pa Chải - Long Phú border gate: “We are deploying infrastructure construction in the border area to soon open the bilateral border gate. Regarding the proposal for cooperation on coffee and sugarcane, these are industries with many similarities, suitable for the development orientation of both sides.”

Also according to Hồ Hưng Hoa, Pu’er city is also a large coffee growing region of Yunnan province, so the two localities have many favorable conditions to promote cooperation, from production to processing and trade of this product.

From a long-term perspective, opening the A Pa Chải border gate contributes to creating livelihoods, improving income for border residents, and promoting cultural, commercial, and service exchanges. When the economy develops and people’s lives improve, the border area will form a stable and sustainable belt, making a positive contribution to the general development goal and ensuring security and defense. With the steps being deployed synchronously, the A Pa Chải border gate is facing an important turning point, expected to open a new economic development axis, contributing to bringing Điện Biên deeper into the regional trade flow.