Covid-19: China Shuts Down Border Gate with Vietnam to Review Safety Measures

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Container trucks seen at Tan Thanh Border Gate in Lang Son Province. Photo by the Industry and Trade Magazine

Custom officials of China’s Guanxi Zhuang Autonomous Region have temporary shut down the border gate with Vietnam’s northern Lang Son Province to review their Covid-19 safety measures, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade.

They have found Covid-19 cases to be linked with drivers passing through the gate, the ministry added.

Lang Son authorities are working with Chinese officials to resume trade with safety measures imposed, VnExpress reported.

Last week, leaders of China-bordering provinces like Lang Son, Lao Cai, Quang Ninh and Cao Bang reported China had increased the frequency of examining and disinfecting products and vehicles due to fear of them carrying the novel coronavirus from Vietnam.

This has increased the time it takes for goods to be transported and caused occasional jams, they said.

Currently, custom clearance is still going on at the Huu Nghi international border gate. Therefore, the ministry has urged businesspeople to speed up exports via the official channel to limit risks, while stepping up pandemic prevention and control.

Vietnam asks Guangxi to facilitate cross-border trade

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien holds a video teleconference with Party Secretary of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Lu Xinshe earlier this month. Photo: moit.gov.vn

Earlier this month, Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien proposed China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to provide all possible conditions for cross-border trade during his teleconference with Party Secretary of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Lu Xinshe.

Dien asked Lu to facilitate cross-border trade between the two sides by upgrading border gates, restoring customs services at several border gates that have been closed due to Covid-19 in a bid to reduce pressure on those in operation, and extending the operating time of customs clearance services at Vietnam-China border gates, crossings and markets, according to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)

He also urged the Chinese side to offer broader access for Vietnamese farm produce and send agricultural experts and business representatives from Guangxi to instruct Vietnamese farmers and producers how to cultivate crops in line with China’s food safety and origin standards.

Exports of Vietnamese agricultural products, dragon fruit for example, via border gates with Guangxi are facing numerous difficulties as a result of restrictions induced by the pandemic, the Vietnamese minister said, expecting that Lu can help solve the problems.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade has urged businesspeople to speed up exports to China via the official channel. Photo: VNA

He suggested the two sides establish a hotline to timely exchange and update each other on import management measures and market demand; and sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s Department of Trade Promotion (Vietrade) and Guangxi International Expo Affairs Bureau and another on supporting rail freight transport services between Vietnam and China.

Lu, for his part, said he stands ready to work with the MoIT in promptly taking comprehensive measures to smooth the way for bilateral trade and economic cooperation, particularly cross-border trade.

He also discussed with Dien on expanding customs clearance capacity and container yards near border gates and organising the 18th China-ASEAN Expo this year.

Both sides reached a consensus on the content of an action plan implementing their MoU for the 2021 – 2023 period which will be inked soon in the future./.

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