Over 5400 immigrants from Vietnam intercepted in China

BEIJING: Chinese officials have intercepted a total of 5,471 illegal immigrants, mainly from Vietnam, in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region last year, a 20 per cent increase from the previous year.

About 45 per cent of the illegal immigrants, ranging in age from 16 to 45, planned to cross the border to work in the booming provinces of Guangdong and Fujian for higher salaries, according to the Guangxi border police.

Nearly 47 per cent of the immigrants were planning to work in border areas and the rest in cities of Guangxi.

Most of the immigrants were repatriated, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

December to April is the harvest season for sugarcane in Guangxi, which has faced a labour shortage, and some of the immigrants planned to harvest the crop in border areas.