Tourists visit landmark 1116 at Hữu Nghị border gate in Lạng Sơn province. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Over the past years, the northern province of Lạng Sơn has actively promoted the effectiveness of friendly exchanges, and cooperation programmes and mechanisms with China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Agencies and localities of both sides have maintained regular exchanges and concretised cooperation contents.

Lạng Sơn shares a 231.7km borderline with China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is also an important gateway in exchange activities between Vietnam and China, as well as between the ASEAN region and China, not only in economy and trade but also in culture.

Lạng Sơn and Guangxi have effectively coordinated in preventing and combating the COVID-19 pandemic as a basis for maintaining customs clearance activities, stepping up economic cooperation, upgrading border gates, and promoting import and export of goods, border management and collaboration in combating crime and illegal immigration across the border, thus building a border area of peace, friendship, cooperation and development.

The two sides have maintained regular exchanges and meetings between their senior leaders, and directed border districts and towns to increase contacts and promote cooperation.

Existing mechanisms and activities have been promoted such as the spring meeting between the Secretaries of the Party Committees of Việt Nam's Lạng Sơn, Quảng Ninh, Cao Bằng and Hà Giang provinces and the Secretary of Guangxi province's Party Committee, the Joint Committee mechanism between the four border provinces of Vietnam and China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and periodic meetings and talks between departments, agencies, organisations, competent forces, districts and cities of the two sides.

The two sides create favourable conditions for people in border areas to enhance traditional neighbourliness, visit relatives, boost business cooperation and goods exchanges, and establish friendly relations between residential clusters.

Five border districts and Lạng Sơn city of the province have established international friendly district/town relations and 12 Lạng Sơn villages have signed "village friendship" agreements with their counterparts in Guangxi. Cultural-sports and youth exchange activities have been maintained. In addition, the two sides have also actively implemented effective external relations activities and international cooperation in the fields of tourism, education and training, labour, agro-forestry, science-technology, and finance.

Last year, the Party Committee, People's Council, People's Committee and agencies of Lạng Sơn province signed 12 agreements and memoranda of understanding with partners from Guangxi, creating a foundation for restoring comprehensive cooperation between agencies and sectors of the two sides in various fields after the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Lạng Sơn’s Department of Foreign Affairs, in the coming time, the two sides will continue to effectively implement the common perceptions reached by the two countries' high-ranking Party and State leaders, as well as to enhance exchanges and cooperation between their agencies and localities in various fields. — VNS