China Tobacco Official Visits Vietnam, Laos on Smuggling
Crhk · 3 SOURCESabout 21 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Liu Sanjiang, a member of the Party leadership group and deputy director of China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, visited Vietnam and Laos for five days from July 29 to discuss combating tobacco counterfeiting, smuggling and other cross-border crimes . During the trip, he met Vietnamese customs and trade officials as well as Lao public security officials to push for deeper law-enforcement coordination, intelligence sharing and tougher action against illegal tobacco trade . He also called for stricter handling of infringements involving cigarette trademarks that imitate Chinese brands and for stronger tracing of illicit tobacco supply chains . The visit additionally included meetings with the Chinese embassies in Vietnam and Laos on communication with local authorities and support for cross-border enforcement cooperation .
Key Points
- China’s tobacco regulator said on Thursday that Liu Sanjiang began the Vietnam-Laos trip on July 29 and stayed for five consecutive days .
- In Vietnam, Liu met the General Department of Customs and Ministry of Industry and Trade to discuss enforcement coordination and intelligence exchange .
- Talks covered severe action against cross-border tobacco counterfeiting and smuggling, including violations involving imitation trademarks of Chinese cigarette brands .
- Liu said the Beibu Gulf joint patrol mechanism should be fully used to deepen information sharing and jointly suppress maritime-linked tobacco crime .
- In Laos, he proposed an intelligence exchange mechanism for tobacco-related cases, stronger joint border inspections, illicit tobacco tracing, and trademark protection cooperation .
Why It Matters
The meetings show Beijing is treating illicit tobacco trade not only as a commercial issue but also as a cross-border law-enforcement and intellectual-property problem involving neighboring states . Closer coordination with Vietnam and Laos could tighten border checks, improve intelligence flows and raise pressure on counterfeiters and smugglers operating along regional land and maritime routes .