China and ASEAN lnspection and Quarantine Staffs Cooperate like a Family

The first China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) closed on Nov.6 in Nanning. This 4-day event concluded an accumulated trade volume of US$1.03 billion, which includes an export of US$826 million, an import of US$123 million, and a domestic trade of US$85 million. 129 projects involving foreign investments have been signed, with a total investment of US$493; and 102 domestic corporation projects have been signed, with a total investment of RMB￥47.54 billion.

This array of numbers also incorporates the inspection and quarantine staff＇s hard work.

The establishment of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) and the annual holding of CAEXPO in Nanning has once again made Guangxi Inspection and Quarantine Bureau step to the front in serving the foreign trade and economic activities. The bureau declared that they will bring all its resources into play to adjust to CAFTA, and to cooperate actively with the Guangxi government to stage a successful Expo. Now, through their one-year effort, they finally submit an outstanding answer！

Guangxi is located at the bridgehead in the exchange between China and 10 ASEAN countries. With the establishment of CAFTA, the Guangxi bureau will enhance its cooperation with the ASEAN inspection and quarantine institutions to guard the gate of the state, and endeavor to play a more active and competent role in CAFTA.

On Feb.26, 2004, a Thai delegation with Mr. Changlum (then Assistant Director of the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand) as its director, and officials from the Foreign Trade Department and Export Promotion Department together with the businessmen from the related enterprises as its member,visited Guangxi Inspection and Quarantine Bureau for a discussion on the inspection and quarantine procedures and regulations on China＇s import of fruits, vegetables, rice, gifts and ornamentsfrom Thailand. The leaders of the bureau gave introductions on China＇s laws, regulations, criteria and rules on its import of these goods from Thailand, so did the Thai on its domestic production and management of fruits, vegetables and rice as well as its inspection and quarantine criteria and regulations for imports and exports. Both declared to control the imports and exports based on the requirements of laws, rules and agreements of the two nations.

On March 10, 2004, a Vietnamese delegation with Director General Mr. Nguyen Quang Minh of the Plant Protection Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam as its director, Mrs. Luong Thi Hai, Ms. Khong Thi Phuong and Mr. Vu Van Huong as its members visited Nanning for a discussion on China-Vietnam plant inspection and quarantine. The Vietnamese quarantine department once doubted that the rice seeds exported from Guangxi had Ephelis Oryzae Syd. (a crop disease). During this meeting, the Chinese party provided a great deal of examples and materials to prove that there had been no record of this disease in Guangxi in the history, and guaranteed that the hybrid rice seeds that passed the inspection and quarantine test would carry no disease. Thus the Vietnamese party promised that Ephelis Oryzae Syd. of rice would not constitute a cause that could affect the export and customs clearance of Chinese rice seeds in Vietnam.

On Sep. 22, 2004, a Thai delegation with Mr. Raewat Khongpradit, Senior Fishery Biologist of the Ministry of Agriculture of Thailand as its director came to Guangxi Inspection and Quarantine Bureau for an inspection and a discussion on the situation of the imp./exp. of aquatic products, and the laws, regulations, procedures and test results of inspection and quarantine of the two countries. The leaders of the bureau introduced the adjustments made by the Guangxi inspection and quarantine institutions to CAFTA and their inspection and quarantine measures to serve the Expo. Mr. Chen Libiao, Chief of the Animal Inspection and Quarantine Division introduced China＇s laws, regulations, criteria and rules on the inspection and quarantine of the imp./exp. of aquatic products, informed about the related regulations of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China, and learned from the Thai as well with respect to the situation of the imp./exp. of their aquatic products, the criteria, laws and regulations on inspection and quarantine, and the diseases detected.

The cooperation and exchange on the inspection and quarantine work in recent years have been very rewarding. At present, the inspection and quarantine institutions at the border of Guangxi and Vietnam has agreed to establish a cooperation and coordination mechanism under the framework of the Memorandum on Plant Inspection and Quarantine of the two nations for a view to communicate and negotiate promptly, so as to resolve the inspection and quarantine problems during product trade. This mechanism is also intended to promote trade on the premise of ensuring the agricultural and forestry production, eco-environmental safety and consumers＇ health of the two nations. Both parties stated that they would enhance the regional cooperation and exchange on inspection and quarantine in the process of establishing CAFTA.

During the SARS and Bird Flu epidemics that took place last year and this year, Guangxi Inspection and Quarantine Bureau enhanced its work in collecting the epidemics information of its neighboring countries as well as its cooperation with the Vietnamese inspection and quarantine institutions. Dongxing, Pingxiang and Shuikou Bureau met with their counterparts at Vietnamese ports for over 50 times to inform each other about the situation of the epidemics, to learn the spreading status of the epidemics in Vietnam, to exchange experiences regarding the prevention of the diseases and to take joint measures to prevent them. Guangxi inspection and quarantine institutions reinforced their checking to the incoming and outgoing people and cargoes, and their supervision on the sanitary situation at the ports. The ″5 No Missing″ and ″5 Putting to Place″ exercised by the Guangxi institutions won the positive feedbacks from the foreign parties, who said that the measures were worth their learning from.

(Translated by Yang Xu)