The Chieng Khuong border gate in Son La province is a bustling trading hub between Vietnam and Laos.

Son La is a mountainous province in the Northwest of Vietnam, located 320 km from Hanoi on National Highway 6. The province covers an area of ​​14,109.83 km², ranking third in the country. To the south, it borders Thanh Hoa province and Huaphanh province of Laos, while to the southwest it borders Luang Prabang province of Laos. Son La shares a 274.065 km national border with Laos, encompassing six border districts: Moc Chau, Van Ho, Yen Chau, Mai Son, Song Ma, and Sop Cop, with 17 border communes and over 90,000 inhabitants.

Son La province has one international border gate, Long Sap Border Gate (Moc Chau district), one national border gate, Chieng Khuong Border Gate (Song Ma district), two sub-border gates, Na Cai Sub-border Gate (Yen Chau district) and Nam Lanh Sub-border Gate (Sop Cop district), and seven trails and unofficial crossings. The number of business households in the border districts reaches nearly 4,000.

Although border trade between Son La province and provinces of the Lao People's Democratic Republic still faces many limitations, including infrastructure, it has made a significant contribution to promoting production and the circulation of goods, meeting the needs of production and daily life for border residents.

Recognizing that promoting border trade infrastructure between Son La and the northern provinces of Laos will significantly contribute to the socio-economic development of the locality, Son La province has paid attention to and undertaken many activities to promote the exchange and trade of goods among residents in the border area.

Over 80 billion VND will be spent to upgrade the Long Sap border gate to an international border gate.

According to the Plan for Implementing the Border Trade Infrastructure Development Program until 2025, with a vision to 2030, issued by the People's Committee of Son La province, the objective is to promote cooperation, development, and connectivity of border trade infrastructure between Son La province and the border provinces of Laos; and to attract and socialize investment in the construction and development of border trade infrastructure.

This includes focusing on attracting investment in logistics service centers and complexes in the Long Sap and Chieng Khuong border gate areas to improve infrastructure in these areas; encouraging the development of traders participating in business activities; improving the quality of human resources working in border trade development; and building a database on border trade development.

This plan is expected to contribute to the development of commercial infrastructure in the border region, strengthening trade between Son La and neighboring localities in Laos.

The development of border infrastructure and trade over the years has also contributed significantly to maintaining political stability and social order in the Vietnam-Laos border region. In particular, the management and monitoring of people and vehicles entering and exiting the country by the Border Guard forces at border markets has been maintained in a stable and effective manner.

The border market in Phiêng Khoài commune, Yên Châu district, is held once a year.

Currently, in Son La province, five border communes have had markets built: Chieng Khuong commune (Song Ma district), Phieng Khoai commune (Yen Chau district), Chieng Son commune (Moc Chau district), Muong Lan commune (Sop Cop district), and Chieng Khua commune (Moc Chau district). Of these, two markets (Chieng Khua Market and Muong Lan Market) are operating inefficiently and have been repurposed, while three markets are still operational (Chieng Khuong Market, Phieng Khoai Market, and Chieng Son Market). The remaining twelve communes have been planned for markets, but due to limited economic resources and sparse population, they have not yet received investment for construction. Instead, they only have informal markets with small numbers of buyers and sellers.

The Chieng Son border market, located in Chieng Son commune, Moc Chau district, was constructed in 2005 and handed over for use in 2007. The total investment was 5,724.4 million VND, funded by the central government budget and support funds for border communes. It is a permanent market. Business activities at the market mainly involve the trading of food, essential consumer goods, and other necessities.

Chiềng Sơn border market is located in Chiềng Sơn border commune, Mộc Châu district.

The Chiềng Khương border market, located in Chiềng Khương border commune, Sông Mã district, was constructed under Decision No. 2245/QD-UBND dated September 21, 2007, of the Sơn La Provincial People's Committee regarding the economic and technical report on the investment in the construction of the Chiềng Khương Market.

With a total construction investment of 4,948.8 million VND (including 3,500 million VND from the state budget and 1,474.8 million VND contributed by the people), the market is a permanent structure. The market plays an important role in promoting the exchange of goods and serving the consumption needs of border residents.

The Phiêng Khoài border market is located in Phiêng Khoài commune, Yên Châu district. The market was established and began operating in 1997. It was built by local residents who voluntarily contributed to its construction. Approximately 50 households regularly operate within the market, selling food and essential consumer goods to residents in the central area of ​​the commune cluster and surrounding regions. In 2017, the market received investment for reconstruction using local government funds.

The average number of traders regularly doing business at border markets ranges from 30 to 50 households. Border gate officials and staff consistently perform well in procedures, inspection, control, and supervision of entry and exit, creating favorable conditions for border trade in accordance with the laws of each country, thereby coordinating inspection and control of import and export to ensure compliance with principles and procedures.

Huyen Nhi