Due to the Chinese New Year, the Lweje-Longchuan trading post on the China-Myanmar border has been closed for an indefinite period since January 18th.
An official of Lweje trading post told KNG that the gates were temporarily closed for trucks as well as passengers. “Passage is closed for trucks and also pedestrians The order to close the trading post came only this morning. The Chinese side closed the gates during Chinese New Year”, he said.
Regular traffic of trucks has been approved since before November 2022, and the long-term closure of pedestrian passage due to the Covid epidemic was also allowed again on December 13th. But now the trading post is temporarily closed again for Chinese New Year.
In December, the Chinese government eased strict anti-Covid regulations at China-Myanmar trade border gates. Since that time, the trading posts in Lweje and Kan Pike Ti in Kachin State are no longer subject to Covid-test and quarantine requirements, and trucks are allowed to travel without hindrance.
“People can travel as freely as before, without any Covid test or quarantine requirements. However, it has not yet become crowded just like old times", a person close to the trading post told KNG.
Due to the impact of the pandemic, the trading at Lweje and Kan Pike Ti trading posts have been stifled for three years from 2020-22 and crop growers have faced many losses. The trading posts have started to become busy again only this year.
