Vietnamese, Chinese customs boost cooperation against smuggling
in the first half of 2025, Vietnam’s customs sector handled 8,561 violations, with a total goods value exceeding 13.6 trillion VND (517.79 million USD). In border areas with China alone, 1,588 smuggling cases involving 59 billion VND were detected.
HCM City (VNA) – The Department of Customs has chaired the 17th Vietnam – China customs cooperation conference on anti-smuggling in HCM City from August 12-14, aiming to improve the effectiveness of goods control and anti-smuggling efforts between the two countries.
Vu Quang Toan, head of the department’s anti-smuggling investigation division, said the two sides have so far expanded cooperation in multiple areas, including land, sea, and air routes as well as cross-border e-commerce, gradually building a systematic and effective coordination mechanism to combat cross-border smuggling.
At this year’s conference, they discussed in detail key topics such as the smuggling of cigarettes, the application of digital transformation in customs control for cross-border e-commerce, and cooperation against maritime smuggling.
According to Toan, in the first half of 2025, Vietnam’s customs sector handled 8,561 violations, with a total goods value exceeding 13.6 trillion VND (517.79 million USD). In border areas with China alone, 1,588 smuggling cases involving 59 billion VND were detected. Common violations included exploiting goods in transit to hide prohibited items, fraudulent origin labeling, concealing goods in specialised vehicles, and falsifying customs documents.
A highlight of the conference was the high consensus on continuing to promote the Operation Mekong Dragon – a joint initiative between the Vietnamese and Chinese customs, which has led to more than 4,500 cases involving drugs and wildlife, with large quantities of contraband seized.
The two sides also proposed future cooperation directions, including enhancing information exchange on customs control operations, technical coordination, applying advanced technologies and AI in anti-smuggling and trade fraud prevention, and expanding cooperation to border localities with high smuggling risks.
Sun Zhijie, Director General of the Chinese General Administration of Customs’ Anti-Smuggling Bureau, praised the cooperation results, especially in anti-smuggling over recent years. He expressed confidence in the effectiveness of the partnership, and affirmed China’s commitment to continued close coordination in professional operations, building strategic trust, and strengthening joint work.
At the conference, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in developing professional exchanges between their technical contact points./.