ACC Secretary-General Visited Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province

On 10 January 2017, Secretary-General Yang Xiuping of ACC visited the Honghe Comprehensive Bonded Zone, Hekou (China)-Lào Cai (Viet Nam) Cross Border Economic Cooperation Zone, Honghe Highway Bridge, Nanxihe Highway Bridge Port and the Joint Inspection Building, Hekou Port Cross Border Market and Hekou Beishan International Market etc. During her visit, Secretary-General Yang was briefed on the present condition of the China-Viet Nam cross-border trade cooperation and the development plans of the region. Ms. Tan Ping, Deputy Head of Honghe Prefecture, Mr. Li Xingkun, Executive Deputy Director of the Administration Committee of Hekou Cross Border Economic Cooperation Zone, and Deputy Party Secretary of Hekou County, officials of Yunnan Foreign Affairs Office, relevant departments of Honghe Prefectural Government and Hekou County Government, and Mr. Zhang Xuehai, Deputy Director of the Information and Public Relations Division of ACC joined the visit.

In their briefings, officials of Honghe Comprehensive Bonded Zone said that the Zone is located in Mengzi City in the South of Yunnan, radiating out to South Asia and Southeast Asia. The Bonded Zone was put into operation in 2015 after its establishment had been approved in 2013. . The planned area of the Zone is 3.29 km2. The zone has basically four functions, namely, bonded logistics, international trade, processing and manufacturing, R&D and testing. Major industries in the Zone include bulk commodity trade, distribution service, logistics, finance and insurance, electronic and information industry, biological pharmacy, textile, new energy materials, equipment manufacturing, rubber products and intensive mineral processing, etc. The zone will provide a platform to Honghe Prefecture and southwest China in expanding economic exchange and cooperation with foreign countries.

At the construction site of the Cross Border Economic Cooperation Zone, officials of the Administrative Committee and the Joint Inspection Department briefed on the progress of the construction in the zone. They said that the Hekou (China)-Lào Cai (Vietnam) Cross Border Economic Cooperation Zone is in the vicinity of the Hekou (China) - Lào Cai (Vietnam) Port. The Chinese part of the Zone is located in Hekou County and the Vietnamese part in Lào Cai City and Bát Xát County, which covers an area of about 11km2 and 10 km2 respectively. The two areas on both sides of Honghe River will be connected by Honghe Highway Bridge which is about to be built. The construction of the Cross Border Zone will brighten the prospects for Honghe Prefecture and Hekou County to open up further to the outside world of and boost its cooperation with neighbouring countries including Viet Nam. They look forward to more supports from ACC.

Secretary-General Yang Xiuping highly valued the work and achievements of Honghe Prefecture and Hekou County in expanding pragmatic cooperation and exchanges with Viet Nam and other ASEAN countries. She noted that this visit gave ACC an opportunity to learn the ongoing cooperation and exchange of ASEAN-China cross-border trade and cooperation as well as the demands of relevant parties. ACC will continue to act as a bridge to provide support and facilitation to Yunnan Province, Honghe Prefecture, and Hekou County, so as to make more contributions to promoting the the all-round?and in-depth?development of ASEAN-China relations for the benefits of the people of both sides.