Vietnam's northern provinces, hoping to enjoy closer all-round relations with Chinese localities, are taking concrete measures to strengthen their border trade, and better deal with border-related issues, a local official said.

"Fueled by traditional friendly relations between Vietnam and China, and increasing mutual understanding about customs, culture and economy, our border trade will certainly increase. The two countries have recently signed many cooperative documents," Bui Quang Vinh, chairman of the People's Committee of Vietnam's northern Lao Cai province, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

The Vietnamese government has attached importance to developing border localities, especially provinces bordering China, pouring an increasing amount of investment into infrastructure construction and upgrading. It has issued border-related policies, aiming at further socio-economic development in the localities, such as establishing border economic areas where both Vietnamese and Chinese investors enjoy tax and non-tax incentives, and simplifying customs procedures to facilitate flows of goods and people via border gates.

To boost economic, trade relations with China in general, and between Lao Cai and Chinese Yunnan province in particular, the Vietnamese province is accelerating the upgrading of its infrastructure works, especially the Lao Cai international border gate, the acquirement of business information from the Chinese side, and the management of border-related activities, Vinh said.

"We've moved all relevant offices to an concentrated area to save travel cost and time for both Vietnamese and Chinese enterprises. We're building a 17-story trade center at the border gate to lure companies in the two countries there for trade promotion and exchange," he said, noting that Lao Cai is also upgrading warehouses and stations as well as calling for firms operating in "clean" industries like recycling, packaging and assembling to invest in its industrial complexes.

Facing the situation that Vietnamese enterprises know little about Chinese partners' goods demand and quality, and that many transactions are not conducted directly, but via inter-mediators, Lao Cai has beefed up ties with Chinese government agencies and sectors, especially the branch of the China Trade Promotion Association in China's southwestern region which has opened a representative office in the Vietnamese province to offer businesses demand and prices of goods as well as policies of the two countries.

"To jointly move farther, we (Lao Cai and Yunnan) have reached consensus on building an economic cooperation area involving Lao Cai and Honghe (a prefecture of Yunnan). This important cooperation will help the two sides tap their advantages: being a trade entrance to Vietnam, China and ASEAN," the chairman stated.

Lao Cai and Honghe jointly built the scheme last month in a move to modernize the Lao Cai international border gate, turning it into a major transit point for goods and services in the economic corridor of Kunming-Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong and the free trade area between China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Vietnamese government this month agreed in principle to allow Lao Cai to expand cooperation ties with Yunnan, assigning the ministries of Trade, Foreign Affairs, Planning and Investment, Finance, Industry, Transport, Defense, and Public Security to exchange views with the committee about the scheme.

Vinh said the scheme focuses on beefing up cooperation on developing infrastructure, tapping natural resources of the two sides for production development, assisting each other in economic restructure and poverty reduction, applying technical and scientific advancements and transferring technology, promoting investment and trade, protecting environment, developing cultural and social activities, and creating better investment climate and more favorable conditions for border trade.

"Border trade brings about many benefits. But, it poses challenges regarding smuggling, trade frauds and disease quarantine. Therefore, the two sides should manage border well and deal with border-related issues smoothly," Vinh said.

Regarding mutual understanding about culture and language as a key to closer multi-faceted cooperation between the two sides, Lao Cai has sent many cadres to Yunnan for studying Chinese.

"Now, 30 senior cadres of Lao Cai, who have already graduated from universities in Vietnam, are studying in Yunnan. They must study Chinese for one or two years, so they will be able to work with Chinese people," Vinh said, adding that his province annually send hundreds of students to the Honghe Institute for studying different fields.
 
In mid-October, a Chinese language training center was established in Lao Cai. The center's formation is a good opportunity for the two sides to deepen their education and training ties, as well as a favorable condition for Vietnamese cadres and students to enrich their knowledge of beautiful Chinese language, culture and people, Vinh said.

With the closer ties between Vietnam and China in general, Lao Cai and Yunnan in particular, socio-economic activities of the two sides will become more effervescent in the coming time. "Vietnam's trade turnovers with China via the Lao Cai international border gate will increase rapidly in the next five years," the chairman stated.

Vietnam's import and export turnovers with China via the border gate are estimated at US$400 million this year, up more than 33.3 percent against last year, he said, noting that the trade turnover via the gate has annually surged 25-30 percent in recent years.

The chairman expressed his belief that the upcoming visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to Vietnam would further strengthen the friendly and cooperative ties between the two countries.

"I strongly believe that the visit will bring about new contents of close cooperation in politics, economy, culture and other fields between the two countries, benefiting the two peoples. "

At a recent meeting of the China-Vietnam Joint Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation, the two sides agreed to boost their economic and trade cooperation and fulfill a two-way trade target of US$15 billion by 2010. Bilateral trade, which stood at US$6.74 billion in 2004, is expected to reach US$8 billion this year.

(Xinhua News Agency October 31, 2005)