Mr. Duong Bin, Deputy Governor of the People's Government of Yunnan Province (China) and Mr. Giang A Tinh, Vice Chairman of Lai Chau Provincial People's Committee hosted the meeting.

Attending the meeting at Lao Cai bridge point were Standing Vice Chairman of Provincial People's Committee Hoang Quoc Khanh; leaders of a number of departments, divisions, branches and districts and cities.

Attending the meeting outside the bridge points of 5 provinces, there were bridge points of the embassies, consulates, central and local agencies of the two countries Vietnam and China.

Delegates attended the meeting at the bridge point in Lao Cai province.

At the meeting, the two parties agreed to assess: After the 7th joint working group meeting was held (December 2018), 4 border provinces of Vietnam and Yunnan province (China) has continued to maintaining the exchange of delegations at all levels, strengthening people-to-people exchanges in border areas in various forms, actively coordinating in implementing cooperation activities to achieve many results. The 5 provinces successfully coordinated to organize 2 meetings between the Provincial Party Secretary of Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Lao Cai and Ha Giang (Vietnam) and the Secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee (China), opening a new dialogue channel which is directional, contributing to deepening and substantive relations between the two parties. The People's Councils of the four border provinces of Vietnam and the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Yunnan province signed the memorandum of understanding to establish friendly cooperation mechanism between the elected bodies of the two parties.

The districts/cities, pairs of communes and villages that have established friendly relations between the two parties to continue to maintain good exchange and cooperation mechanisms, actively coordinate and help each other in the prevention and control of Covid-19 pandemic. The deployment of twinning between localities on both parties of the border and frontier posts has been interested in promoting. Up to now, the two parties have 12 pairs of friendship districts/cities, villages and hamlets.

Delegates attended the meeting at the bridge point of Lai Chau province.

The most prominent aspect of the friendly neighborly relationship between the two parties is the activities of coordination, support and mutual assistance in the prevention and control of the Covid-19 pandemic. The two parties regularly exchange information through diplomatic notes, telephone hotlines on pandemic developments and measures to prevent and control the pandemic, and coordinate in detecting, returning and isolating citizens on illegal immigration, changes in policies on immigration, export - import, support each other with some medical supplies (ventilators, oxygen generators, masks, protective clothing...) for pandemic prevention and control.

Delegates attended the online meeting.

Cooperation in the field of agriculture; tourism; completing and upgrading traffic infrastructure in the border gate area; border management and protection; cross-border labor management, education, health care, currency have also achieved many results.

Speaking at the meeting, Standing Vice Chairman of Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee Hoang Quoc Khanh expressed his high agreement with the content of assessing the results of the implementation of the 7th meeting session prepared by Lai Chau province. The results of cooperation in many fields over the past time showed the high responsibility of each locality in promoting friendly cooperation between the provinces.

Standing Vice Chairman of Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee Hoang Quoc Khanh spoke at the meeting.

Looking back nearly 4 years since the 7th meeting in 2018, Lao Cai province assessed that some results have been achieved in the fields of cooperation with Yunnan province (China). The two provinces of Lao Cai and Yunnan regularly maintained the exchange of delegations at all levels and branches to exchange and cooperate; strengthening people-to-people exchanges in border areas in various forms. Lao Cai and Yunnan provinces have promoted the operation of "priority flow" for agricultural products through the pair of Kim Thanh (Vietnam) and Bac Son (China) International Road Border Gate No. II to create favourable conditions for customs clearance for agricultural products and fruits through this pair of border gates. The two parties continue to simplify procedures, creating favorable conditions for import and export activities through border gates of the two parties; continue to maintain the organization of export promotion conferences for agricultural, forestry and fishery products in direct and online forms with the participation of management agencies and enterprises of the two parties. In order to promote socio-economic development in the border area, Lao Cai and Yunnan provinces have exchanged and reported to the Governments of the two countries for approval and support for investment capital to deploy the construction of road bridges across the Red River belongs to the border area of ​​Bat Xat (Lao Cai, Vietnam) - Ba Sai (Van Nam, China). 

In order to further develop cooperation between Vietnam's border provinces with Yunnan province (China) in general and between Lao Cai province and Yunnan in particular, Standing Vice Chairman of Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee Hoang Quoc Khanh proposed that: Continuing to effectively implement the cooperation contents according to the minutes and agreements signed between the two parties, especially the minutes of the Conference of Provincial Party Secretary of Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Lai Chau, Dien Bien (Vietnam) and Secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee (China) in 2022. Coordinating to maintain regular exchanges to promote trade exchanges through border gates of provinces. The two provinces of Lao Cai and Yunnan actively promote the implementation of the actual operation of the "priority flow" for agricultural products through the pair of international road border gates No. II Kim Thanh (Vietnam) and Bac Son (China); soon completion of the relevant procedures, report to the superior governing bodies of the two parties on the upgrading of the Muong Khuong (Vietnam) - Kieu Dau (China) and Ban Vuoc (Vietnam) - Ba Sai (China) to become bilateral border gate or customs clearance point belonging to the pair of international road border gates Lao Cai (Vietnam) - Ha Khau (China). Actively coordinating with the governing agencies of the two countries to promote the connection and construction of standard gauge railway line of 1,435 mm Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong, in the immediate future study and investment in building a railway connecting Lao Cai station (Vietnam) to Ha Khau Bac station (China); strengthening exchanges and coordination with the authorities of the two countries in discussing and signing agreements and protocols on building road bridges across the Red River in the Bat Xat (Vietnam) - Ba Sai (China). Strengthening cooperation in the fields of education and training, culture, sports, tourism, health, agriculture, environmental protection, crime prevention and control, border management, labor management cross border, control disease across border...

At the meeting, leaders of provinces, embassies, consulates, central and local agencies of the two countries Vietnam and China exchanged and proposed contents and solutions to strengthen cooperation and promoting trade development, connecting traffic across the border, building cross-border economic cooperation zones, trade zones, building infrastructure at border gates, implementing construction of goods supervision activities at railway and road border gates, promoting substantive cooperation in other fields, building border of peace, stability and friendship...

The provinces signed the minutes of the 8th meeting.

At the end of the meeting, leaders of 4 border provinces of Vietnam and Yunnan province (China) signed the minutes of the 8th meeting of the joint working group between Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Ha Giang and Dien Bien provinces (Vietnam) and Yunnan province (China) and the memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the medical field between the two parties.

Accordingly, the key cooperation contents in the coming time include: Border custom clearance and trade promotion; construction of border gates and opening roads; border traffic connections. Regarding the 9th meeting, the joint working group of 5 provinces will hold a meeting at the same time as the 3rd meeting between the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committees of Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Lai Chau, and Dien Bien (Vietnam) and the Secretary of Yunnan Provincial Party Committee (China) in 2023.