New China-Vietnam air route boosts links with ASEAN

Colorful Guizhou Airlines has launched a direct route linking Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, with Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, further expanding China's air links with fast-growing ASEAN markets amid rising regional travel and trade.

The service began on Saturday, the Guizhou civil aviation group said. According to the route schedule, outbound flight GY703 will depart from Guiyang at 10:50 p.m. Beijing Time and land in Ho Chi Minh City at 1:30 a.m. local time. Return flight GY704 will take off at 2:30 a.m. local time and arrive in Guiyang at 7:10 a.m. Beijing Time.

This new route will operate alongside the carrier's existing Guiyang-Hanoi service, thereby ensuring direct connections between this mountainous province and Vietnam's two biggest cities.

Officials said the expanded network is expected to support trade, tourism and business travel between southwest China and ASEAN.

China-ASEAN air connectivity has been accelerating in recent months. A passenger route linking Haikou in south China with Nha Trang in Vietnam opened in November, while an all-cargo service connecting east China's Nanjing and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia also began operations last month.

Economic and trade relations between China and ASEAN have remained robust. Since 2022, annual bilateral trade in goods has consistently exceeded 900 billion U.S. dollars and hit a record 982.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2024.

This growth trend has continued in 2025, with trade value rising 8.2 percent year on year in the first 10 months.

(Cover: Air China plane flies past the supermoon, December 4, 2025. /VCG)