On October 23, Vice Minister Lu Peijun met with Mr. Nelson Cordovés Reyes, First Deputy Head of the General Customs of the Republic of Cuba in Beijing. Both sides spoke highly of the cooperation between China and Cuban Customs.

Vice Minister Lu made five proposals on strengthening bilateral cooperation. Firstly, the two administrations should maintain high level dialogues, promote exchanges of officials at all levels to benefit from experience and knowledge sharing. Secondly, both sides should enhance exchanges on application of container inspection equipment to provide secure and facilitated customs clearance environment. Thirdly, the two sides should step up their efforts in law enforcement cooperation in anti-smuggling, and make joint studies on enforcement cooperation agaisnt the smuggling of drugs, firearms and ammunition, and endangered wild fauna and flora under the Agreement between China and Cuba on Cooperation and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters. Fourthly, the two Customs should continue their cooperation in capacity building to lay down more tailored training plans based on demands, and negotiate and sign new cooperative documents of education and training. Fifthly, both sides should step up the coordination and support regarding multilateral affairs by supporting each other in the World Customs Organization and actively engage in multilateral projects initiated by each other.

Mr. Nelson Cordovés Reyes fully agreed with Vice Minister Lu’s proposals and expressed his hope to maintain and deepen the friendly cooperation between China and Cuban Customs.