External affairs: Contributing to removing difficulties, promoting import and export activities

– From early 2021 until now, the situation of COVID-19 epidemic has been complicated, significantly affecting goods import and export activities through border gates in the province. In order to solve problems and promote customs clearance activities, foreign affairs have been carried out regularly and effectively.

Right from the beginning of 2021, Department of Foreign Affairs has advised the Provincial People’s Committee to hold talks between the leader of the Provincial People’s Committee and the leader of the People’s Government of Chongzuo City, Guangxi (China) on construction and completion of infrastructure in border gate areas on both sides, strengthening solutions to improve customs clearance capacity, build a model border gate, promote import and export and trade in goods.

In April 2021, due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Department advised the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People’s Committee to attend the Early Spring Meeting between the Secretaries of the provinces and the region in 2021 and the 12^th Session of the Joint Working Committee between four provinces: Lang Son, Cao Bang, Quang Ninh, Ha Giang (Viet Nam) and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (China) by online form at Lang Son point. At the meeting, the parties discussed and agreed to direct cooperation on epidemic prevention and control, promoting the restoration of trade and investment after the epidemic period; raise the level of cooperation in the construction, management, opening and upgrading of border gates on land; continue to research and apply customs clearance facilitation measures.

A talks to promote customs clearance and investment in border gate infrastructure between the leader of the People’s Committee of Lang Son Province and the People’s Government of Chongzuo City, Guangxi, China (February 2021)

In addition, as the focal point in the coordination and exchange mechanism, Department of Foreign Affairs regularly maintains exchanges with the Guangxi Foreign Affairs Office about the epidemic situation, goods import and export and solutions to maintain trade activities at border gates, promote the reopening and upgrading of border gates and improve customs clearance capacity.

Mrs.Tran Thi Van Thuy, Deputy Director of Department of Foreign Affairs, said that due to the epidemic situation, the Department has advised to flexibly adjust the method of organizing foreign activities such as telephone conversation, online talks, face-to-face talks at the border, sending letters, diplomatic notes… thereby, maintaining exchanges and promoting cooperation contents, especially cooperation with Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, promoting customs clearance through border gates in the area, removing difficulties, realizing the “dual goals” of both disease prevention and control and socio-economic development.

From the beginning of 2021 up to now, there have been over 20 interdisciplinary delegations and functional forces holding face-to-face talks on the border; sending many business letters and diplomatic notes to the Chinese authorities. In particular, the Management Board of Dong Dang – Lang Son Border Gate Economic Zone has coordinated to organize eleven talks and sent eight business letters to China’s districts and counties on epidemic prevention and control and removing difficulties in customs clearance.

Mr. Hoang Khanh Duy, Deputy Head of the Management Board of Dong Dang – Lang Son Border Gate Economic Zone, said that external activities have contributed to strengthening understanding, trust, coordination in finding effective solutions to ensure epidemic prevention and control while maintaining and facilitating customs clearance activities, solving congestion, actively supporting the export of domestic agricultural products to the Chinese market.

The talks on August 16, 2021 was a typical example. Due to some unclear sources of information about the developments of the COVID-19 epidemic at Tan Thanh Border Gate, for two days (August 16-17), there was a time when customs clearance was temporarily suspended for the two sides’ authorities (the People’s Committee of Lang Son Province, Viet Nam and the People’s Government of Pingxiang County, Guangxi, China) to hold talks. After the two sides agreed on a plan to adjust and pilot the process of customs clearance through Tan Thanh Border Gate, from the morning of August 18 to now, Tan Thanh Border Gate has been open to operate at the prescribed time as before.

Through foreign affairs, currently, 5/12 border gates in the province have restored customs clearance. From the beginning of the year to the end of July 2021, import-export activities at border gates remained basically stable, the volume of goods cleared during the day was still high compared to the same time in previous years. Specifically, in July 2021, at Huu Nghi International Border Gate, the volume of vehicles carrying import and export goods through the border gate reached over 800 vehicles/day, an increase of 200 vehicles/day compared to July 2020; Tan Thanh Border Gate: 230 vehicles/day, an increase of 70 vehicles/day; Dong Dang International Railway Station: 32 carriages/day and so on.

According to statistics, if in 2020, the total import-export turnover through the province reached US$2,810 million, the first eight months of 2021 (accumulated from the beginning of 2021 to August 26) was US$2,710 million, reaching 88 % of the plan, up 52.2% over the same period in 2020.

At the online conference on economic development in border areas (August 16, 2021), Mrs. Doan Thu Ha, Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People’s Committee, gave tasks and solutions to promote border economic development in the province, with emphasis on foreign affairs: Continuing to maintain the effectiveness of leaders’ talks, information exchange and  cooperation between the province and the region; between functional forces at the two sides’ border gates to promptly and quickly remove problems arising to facilitate customs clearance of import and export goods, in the context of the complicated developments of the COVID-19 epidemic.