Vietnam, China hold 15th conference on cooperation in fighting smuggling: The 15th conference on Vietnam - China customs cooperation in anti-smuggling in Hanoi on November 23, 2023. (Photo: thoibaotaichinhvietnam.vn)

The two sides agreed that the increasingly complicated smuggling situation along border routes shared between Vietnam and China requires the two countries' customs agencies to work closer on law enforcement and fight against smuggling in order to ensure a healthy environment for their legitimate businesses.

The two sides reviewed the results of their coordination in the fight against smuggling in recent times, and agreed to continue bolstering joint efforts in preventing illegal trafficking of drug and animals being in danger of extinction, and implementing the “Mekong Dragon” campaign which has been included in the Vietnam-China joint statement on continuing to promote and deepen the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

The anti-smuggling conference is an important cooperation mechanism of the two countries’ customs forces. The cooperation in fighting smuggling between the two agencies has been strengthened and deepened on both bilateral and multilateral levels.

The two sides regularly deploy cooperation activities to support each other in fighting violations of customs law. The exchange of professional information and mutual assistance in investigation and verification of cases have brought good results.

They have actively collaborated in building initiatives and coordinated the implementation of the "Mekong Dragon" campaign in combating drug and wildlife smuggling in the Asia-Pacific region.

At the conference, the two sides discussed and agreed to strengthen coordination and improve the efficiency of information and expertise exchange in order to enhance the effectiveness of anti-smuggling cooperation on all routes, effectively promote relevant investigation support activities of each country, and better the effectiveness of general control programmes.

The two sides pledged to deploy effectively the "Mekong Dragon" campaign to fight against illegal trafficking of drug and wildlife in the Asia-Pacific region and jointly report results of the campaign’s stages to the World Customs Organisation.

The “Mekong Dragon” campaign is a joint action programme between customs authorities and other law enforcement agencies of the Asia-Pacific region to combat illegal trafficking of drug, wildlife and products from wild animals and plants under the CITES list on all routes.