Vietnam asks China to reopen its border gates, VnExpress reports

Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade urged China’s Guangxi region to reopen its border gates with the Southeast Asian country and extend customs clearance hours to ease supply-chain snarls amid zero-Covid-19 policies, VnExpress news website reported. 

The measures have disrupted bilateral trade development, leading to significant losses for businesses in both countries, trade officials told their Guangxi counterparts Friday, according to VnExpress. Thousands of Vietnamese trucks have been stranded at the border for more than a month. Vietnam also wants Guangxi to lift its suspension of Vietnamese dragon fruit imports, the news website said. 

Guangxi trade officials agreed to increase the duration of customs clearance and pass along other proposals to higher authorities, according to VnExpress.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien sent letters to China’s Ministry of Commerce, customs administration and secretaries of Guangxi and Yunnan province requesting assistance in resolving the issues, the news website reported.