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BEIJING, Aug. 22-- Chinese President Xi Jinping has recently exchanged messages with his Lao counterpart Bounnhang Vorachit on a bus crash in Laos on Monday that has killed 13 Chinese tourists. Bounnhang, also general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and chairman of the Defense and Public Security Central Commission, said he was deeply saddened to hear about the grave bus crash and the heavy casualties it caused. The Lao president expressed deep sorrow for the victims, and extended sincere condolences to Xi and, through Xi, to the bereaved families and the injured. The Lao side will continue to make all-out efforts to provide proper medical treatment to the injured and deal with the aftermath in close coordination with the Chinese side, Bounnhang said. He said he believes that with joint efforts of both sides, the accident will be properly addressed, and the building of a Laos-China community with a shared future will be smoothly promoted. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said that in the wake of the accident, the Lao side immediately mobilized forces from the party, the government, the army and the police as well as local people to actively join the rescue operations, which demonstrates the great importance that Laos attaches to its relationship with China and the high sense of responsibility it maintains in dealing with the accident. | 
