Vice Minister Sun Yibiao Attends China-ASEAN Customs Connectivity High Level Workshop

10/26/2015

On September 18, Vice Minister Sun Yibiao attended opening ceremony of the China-ASEAN Customs Connectivity High Level Workshop and delivered a speech. Attendants at the workshop discussed such topics as implementation of China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, China-ASEAN customs facilitation cooperation, China-ASEAN law enforcement, and reached extensive consensus on advancing China-ASEAN customs facilitation cooperation, promoting regional law enforcement cooperation and establishing a cooperative and win-win partnership between customs and business. Mr.Lan Tianli, Member of Standing Committee of the CPC and Vice Chairman of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, attended the opening ceremony of the Workshop and delivered a speech.

In the meantime, Vice Minister Sun also attended the Symposium on the Importance of Trade Facilitation on Asia Integration & Commemoration of the 20^th Anniversary of the Establishment of the World Trade Organization and delivered a speech. Among major topics of discussion at the symposium were establishment of an efficient customs system, strengthened cooperation between customs and other government agencies and promotion of trade facilitation. Leaders of related central government agencies including Ministry of Commerce, officials from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, representatives from the WTO, and trade representatives of ASEAN countries and Korea attended the meeting.

Also on that day, Vice Minister Sun met in Nanning respectively with Mr.Bounpaseuth Sikounlabout, Deputy Director General of Customs Department of Lao Ministry of Finance and Mr.Nuon Chanrith, Deputy Director General of Cambodian General Department of Customs & Excise, who both attended the China-ASEAN Customs Connectivity High Level Workshop. Vice Minister Sun and Mr.Bounpaseuth Sikounlabout signed a Declaration of Intent on Capacity Building between the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China and the Customs Department of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and witnessed the signing of Cooperation Minutes between Nanning Customs District of China and Lang Son Customs Bureau of Vietnam.