Border cities of Vietnam, China enjoy fruitful relations

Mong Cai city in Vietnam’s northeastern province of Quang Ninh obtained many major achievements in all fields of cooperation with neighbouring Dongxing city of China’ Guangxi province in 2023, and hopes to enhance bilateral ties in the time ahead, a local official has said.

In 2023, Mong Cai and Dongxing signed seven memoranda and agreements on such fields as building a peaceful border, establishing a friendship exchange mechanism between the two cities’ Party committees, and promoting project implementation and investment by both sides’ businesses to serve as bases for cooperation activities.

They have held routine talks, shared information in a timely manner, and coordinated to resolve issues related to customs clearance and exit - entry via the Mong Cai - Dongxing international border gate pair. They resumed comprehensive cooperation and successfully organised the 15th Vietnam - China international trade and tourism fair in the Vietnamese city last year.

Besides, the two cities have stepped up cultural and tourism integration, and formed a Vietnam - China border tourism belt through several people-to-people and cultural exchanges. In December 2023, they held a forum on promoting cross-border tourism via their international border gate pair, creating conditions for businesses to explore the travel market in China’s coastal localities.

Ho Quang Huy, Vice Secretary of the Mong Cai Party Committee and Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, affirmed that the Vietnam - China traditional friendship is a precious common asset of the two Parties, States, and peoples.

He attributed local socio-economic development partly to the comprehensive cooperation with Dongxing.

At a recent meeting held in Dongxing ahead of the Year of the Dragon 2024, Vice Secretary of the Party Committee and Mayor of this Chinese city Li Jian noted that over the past years, the two sides have sustained the development trend of their friendship and recorded a number of significant attainments in areas such as economy, trade, tourism, culture, and sports.

Huy expressed his hope that in the time ahead, the cities will continue fostering friendship exchanges and cooperation in multiple spheres to make new strides, promote common development, and generate practical benefits for residents in their border areas.