NANNING - Bilateral trade between south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Vietnam is expected to exceed $20 billion this year, local authorities said on Sunday.

"Bilateral trade in the first 10 months this year has reached $18.38 billion," said Huang Huansheng, deputy head of the regional commerce department at the opening of the 24th China-Vietnam border tourism festival.

Economic and trade cooperation between Guangxi and Vietnam has greatly deepened since the establishment of China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone in 2010.

Vietnam has been Guangxi's biggest trading partner for 17 consecutive years. Last year, bilateral trade reached $24.64 billion, accounting for 84.9 percent of total trade between Guangxi and ASEAN members.