Vietnam - China Customs: Strengthening Substantive and Comprehensive Cooperation in the Fight Against Smuggling

Vietnam Customs recently chaired the 17th Vietnam - China Customs Cooperation Conference on Anti-Smuggling with the participation of professional units working in control from central to local levels of the Customs of the two countries.

Speaking at the Conference held in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Vu Quang Toan - Head of the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department, Head of the Vietnam Customs Delegation emphasized that, based on the positive results from the 16 previous Conferences, especially after the 16th Conference in Fujian in 2024, the two sides have expanded cooperation in many fields, including roads, sea routes, aviation and e-commerce, gradually building a methodical and effective coordination mechanism in the fight against cross-border smuggling.

At this conference, the two sides discussed in detail key topics such as: the situation of tobacco smuggling, applying digital transformation in customs control for cross-border e-commerce, and cooperation against smuggling at sea. In particular, the two sides reached a high consensus on continuing to promote the effectiveness of the Mekong Dragon Campaign - a joint initiative of Vietnam Customs and China Customs - which has helped arrest more than 4,500 cases related to drugs and wildlife, with a large number of seized exhibits.

Many outstanding results have been recorded in the past time, in which, in the first 6 months of 2025 alone, the Vietnam Customs sector handled 8,561 violations with a total value of goods of more than 13,600 billion VND; in the border areas with China alone, 1,588 smuggling cases were detected, with a value of nearly 59 billion VND. Common forms of violations include: taking advantage of transit goods to mix prohibited goods, fraudulent origin, hiding goods in specialized vehicles and falsifying customs documents.

In addition, the two sides proposed a number of cooperation orientations in the coming time such as: enhancing the exchange of information on customs control operations, technical coordination, promoting the application of high technology, AI in preventing smuggling, trade fraud and expanding cooperation to localities sharing borders, with high risks of smuggling (Joint Action Plan against smuggling between Nanning Customs - China and Customs of Regions VIII (Quang Ninh), VI (Lang Son), XVI (Cao Bang, Tuyen Quang) - Vietnam and between Kunming Customs - China and Customs of Regions VII (Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Dien Bien), XVI (Cao Bang, Tuyen Quang) - Vietnam).

Speaking at the conference, Mr. Sun Zhijie - Director of the Anti-Smuggling Department, General Administration of Customs of China highly appreciated the cooperation results between the two countries, especially in the field of fighting against smuggling in recent years; expressed deep confidence in the effectiveness of cooperation between the two Customs forces; and committed to continue to closely coordinate in professional activities, build strategic trust and promote cooperation between the two sides. At the Conference, the two sides signed the Minutes of the Conference to build professional exchange activities between technical contacts of the two sides.

Source: Vietnam Business Forum