Officials from Vietnam's Lao Cai province (Photo: VNA)
Lao Cai (VNA) - Officials from Vietnam’s northern province ofLao Cai and Honghe county inthe southwestern Chineseprovince of Yunnan held an video conference on May 22 regarding the COVID-19situation in their localities and discussed increasing trade activities in the future.
ViceChairman of the Lao Cai Provincial People’s Committee Hoang Quoc Khanh said Vietnamhas reported no new COVID-19 infections in the community for more than one month. Of its totalof 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 notransmissions have been reported via those gates.
He suggested the two sides enhance exchanges between relevant agenciesto share difficulties and step up cross-border trade cooperation, as well asagree on measures to manage people, transport, and goods at border gates.
Luo Rongxu, Deputy Governor of Honghe county, agreed with Lao Cai’s proposalson cooperation.
He said the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected existing cooperationbetween the two sides. Honghe is now free of community transmission, but thereis still a risk of a further outbreak.
Honghe will therefore set up a group specialising in promoting bilateraltrade and cooperation, he added, suggesting increasing locality-to-localitycollaboration.
He recommended actively cooperating in customs clearance and the tradeof goods, including farm produce, as well as accelerating cross-bordercooperation projects, increasing human resources cooperation and bordermanagement, and striving to restore production to previous levels./.
