Lao Cai boosts cooperation with Chinese locality
Lao Cai (VNA) - Officials from Vietnam’s northern province of
Lao Cai and Honghe county in
the southwestern Chinese
province of Yunnan held an video conference on May 22 regarding the COVID-19
situation in their localities and discussed increasing trade activities in the future.
Vice
Chairman of the Lao Cai Provincial People’s Committee Hoang Quoc Khanh said Vietnam
has reported no new COVID-19 infections in the community for more than one month. Of its total
of 324 cases, 263 have been cured and there have been zero fatalities.
Lao Cai has worked closely with Yunnan to prevent the spread of the disease,
in particular checking border gate areas, he said, adding that so far no
transmissions have been reported via those gates.
He suggested the two sides enhance exchanges between relevant agencies
to share difficulties and step up cross-border trade cooperation, as well as
agree on measures to manage people, transport, and goods at border gates.
Luo Rongxu, Deputy Governor of Honghe county, agreed with Lao Cai’s proposals
on cooperation.
He said the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected existing cooperation
between the two sides. Honghe is now free of community transmission, but there
is still a risk of a further outbreak.
Honghe will therefore set up a group specialising in promoting bilateral
trade and cooperation, he added, suggesting increasing locality-to-locality
collaboration.
He recommended actively cooperating in customs clearance and the trade
of goods, including farm produce, as well as accelerating cross-border
cooperation projects, increasing human resources cooperation and border
management, and striving to restore production to previous levels./.