Laos, China promote economic ties, trade, investment and tourism
Laos, China promote economic ties, trade, investment and tourism
Hunan province of China and Laos have promoted cooperation in the fields of economics, trade, investment and tourism .
Delegations from the two parties met in Vientiane on Wednesday to exchange information on policies pertaining to investment and tourism promotion. They also presented their tourism sites as well.
The delegation from Hunan province was led by permanent member of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee, Ms Huang Lanxiang, while the Lao delegation was led by Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, Dr Khamlien Pholsena.
Deputy Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Savankhone Razmountry, also attended the meeting.
This is a significant meeting for the expansion of economic cooperation, trade, investment and tourism between Laos and Hunan province of China in line with China's Belt and Road Initiative', Dr Khamlien said in his remarks.
He said international cooperation in this era is very important for socio-economic development of the country; therefore, Laos gives prioritises and has an open policy toward cooperation with many countries, especially China, in mutual and multiple forms through international and regional stages.
Laos and China established diplomatic relations in 1961 and since then two countries cooperated in the fields of trade, investment and tourism.
In the investment sector, Chinese investors now have over 838 projects in areas including agriculture, industry, mining and service with a combined value of more than US$6 billion, making China the top ranked foreign investor in Laos.
More than 100,000 people from Hunan province came to invest in Laos, especially in the trading sector, according to official statistics.
Laos has favourable conditions for investment so we will try to raise more investment capital from Hunan province for the areas of agriculture, tourism and services in future,Dr Khamlien said.
Besides this, China currently ranks as the second largest trading partner with Laos, after Thailand.
In 2015, the value of Lao exports to the Chinese market reached over US$218 million, accounting for 29.8 percent of total exports, while the total value of imports reached US$207 million.
Specifically, Laos has an export quota of 8000 tonnes of rice per year to Hunan province, he said.
In the tourism sector, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Laos reached about 500,000 people in 2015, accounting for 10.92 percent of tourist arrivals, Dr Khamlien added.
On the occasion, Dr.Khamlien informed the attendees that the newly amended Investment Promotion Law was already approved by National Assembly, which provides a new investment promotion policy for foreign investors, reducing the difficulty for investment procedures, and allowing for foreign private sector actors to invest in infrastructure.
Besides that, the government of Laos has special and specific economic development zones to further ease restrictions on foreign investors who have expressed their interest in investing within the country, he added.
Dr Khamlien encouraged businessmen from Hunan province to invest in Laos because the country is rich in natural resources and agriculturally prosperous.
