Vietnam's northern border region promote ties with China's Guangxi

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh on Saturday called on border regions of Vietnam and China to continually implement reached agreements on border trade and boost tourism cooperation.

During the seventh conference of the joint working committee between China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Vietnam's northern border provinces of Lang Son, Cao Bang, Ha Giang, and Quang Ninh held in Ha Giang (some 220 km north of capital Hanoi), Minh also called on the regions to work closely together in simplifying customs clearance procedures at border gates, thus contributing to socio-economic development and improving local living conditions.

The Vietnamese official expressed his hope that after the conference, the regions will further their cooperation and exchange activities to promote mutual understanding and friendship among the peoples, reported Vietnam's state-run news agency VNA.

The four Vietnamese regions share a nearly-700-km land border with Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

According to Zhang Xiaoqin, Vice Governor of Guangxi, and also Head of the Chinese delegation to the conference, cooperation between the Vietnamese provinces and Guangxi has grown robustly across sectors.

The region will press ahead with cooperative programs with the four Vietnamese regions for the shared borderline of peace, stability, cooperation and development, Zhang was quoted by VNA as saying.

A number of cooperation documents were signed after the conference, including the building of Dongzhong-Hoanh Mo border gate bridge connecting Guangxi and Vietnam's northeastern Quang Ninh province (some 120 km east of capital Hanoi), and the development of economic border zone between Guangxi and Vietnam's northern Lang Son province (some 130 km north of capital Hanoi) among others, reported VNA. Endi