At the invitation of the Party Committee and People’s Government of Shandong province, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang led a Vietnamese delegation and business representatives to Jinan, Shandong, China, to attend a series of activities under the “Shandong - Viet Nam Dialogue” programme from August 25 to 28, 2026.

“Shandong - Viet Nam Dialogue” trade and investment promotion conference

On the morning of August 26, 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the People’s Committee of Bac Ninh province and the People’s Government of Shandong province jointly organised the “Shandong - Viet Nam Dialogue” trade and investment promotion conference, which brought together nearly 400 business representatives from the two countries. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang, Secretary of the Bac Ninh provincial Party Committee Nguyen Hong Thai and Secretary of the Shandong provincial Party Committee Lam Vu attended and delivered remarks at the conference.

At the conference, Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang highly appreciated the parties’ joint efforts in organising the event on such a large scale. She reviewed the positive outcomes achieved in Viet Nam - China and Viet Nam - Shandong economic, trade and investment relations, noting that alongside increasingly robust trade ties, investment cooperation is gradually emerging as a new bright spot.

The Deputy Minister expressed her hope that the two sides would step up cooperation in manufacturing and processing, logistics, new energy, artificial intelligence and digital transformation, with a view to turning Viet Nam - Shandong economic and trade cooperation into a model of cooperation within Viet Nam - China relations.

Shandong provincial Party Committee Secretary Lam Vu said Shandong is a highly developed province with considerable potential. In recent years, exchanges between Shandong and Vietnamese localities have continued to expand in both breadth and depth. Looking ahead, Shandong hopes to work with Viet Nam to share new opportunities arising from an open market, expand industrial cooperation, explore new models of green transformation, and promote deeper and more substantive cooperation across various fields.

Bac Ninh provincial Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Hong Thai spoke highly of Shandong’s areas of strength and expressed the hope that cooperation between the two localities would gradually develop towards value-chain cooperation, creating conditions for businesses on both sides to participate more deeply in regional and global supply chains, with the aim of building Bac Ninh - Shandong cooperation into a model for collaboration between Vietnamese and Chinese localities.

At the conference, leaders of the Bac Ninh provincial People’s Committee, the Shandong provincial Development and Reform Commission, the Viet Nam Green Transformation Development Association and Goertek Joint Stock Company delivered presentations introducing and promoting the investment environments of their respective localities, as well as the capabilities of their organisations and businesses.

As part of the event, the two sides organised direct business-matching and negotiation sessions involving more than 170 companies, facilitating the signing of eight cooperation projects focused on key sectors such as agricultural products, environmental protection equipment and construction materials, with a total value of up to RMB 50.9 million.

Meeting with Shandong provincial Party Committee Secretary Lam Vu

Immediately before the “Shandong - Viet Nam Dialogue” trade and investment promotion conference, Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang attended a meeting with Shandong provincial Party Committee Secretary Lam Vu.

At the meeting, Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang congratulated Shandong on its impressive socio-economic achievements in recent years, spoke highly of the growth in bilateral trade turnover and put forward several proposals to further deepen Viet Nam - Shandong trade and investment cooperation. These included regularly organising the “Shandong - Viet Nam Dialogue” and strengthening coordination to build on the successes achieved in implementing cooperation documents between the two sides.

The Deputy Minister also proposed that Shandong continue to support and facilitate the promotion of distinctive Vietnamese products across its localities; encourage capable Shandong enterprises to invest in Viet Nam and expand cooperation; and increase imports of Vietnamese products in which Viet Nam has competitive strengths and for which there is demand in China, with a view to gradually moving towards a more balanced trade relationship.

Secretary Lam Vu spoke highly of the proposals put forward by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and instructed the provincial Foreign Affairs Office to study them, report on the findings and propose plans for their implementation.

Opening ceremony for the exhibition and promotion of Viet Nam’s key export products

On the afternoon of August 26, 2026, an opening ceremony for an exhibition and promotional event featuring distinctive Vietnamese products was held on Baihua Island Pedestrian Street in Jinan, Shandong province. The event featured stalls showcasing distinctive products representing various regions of Viet Nam, including coffee, bird’s nest, dried fruits, agarwood, medicinal herbs and silk products, attracting considerable interest from local residents and visitors to Jinan.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang emphasised the significance of the event, which was held on the eve of Viet Nam’s National Day. She said the event was not merely a trade promotion activity but also a bridge of friendship, bringing Vietnamese products, culture and people closer to residents of Jinan and Shandong, as well as visitors from elsewhere. It would help local people gain a deeper understanding of Viet Nam, its people and the potential for economic and trade cooperation between the two sides.

Shandong Vice Governor Wen Nuan stressed that Viet Nam and Shandong have a solid foundation for cooperation and that bilateral trade relations are growing increasingly robust, with many distinctive Vietnamese products gaining popularity among Shandong consumers. Vice Governor Wen Nuan said the exhibition and business-matching activities provided an opportunity for Shandong residents to learn directly about Vietnamese products and culture, while opening up opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to access and develop the Shandong market.

Bac Ninh Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Pham Van Thinh said businesses and cooperatives from Bac Ninh had brought their key and high-potential products to Jinan, seeking Chinese partners to establish distribution channels and build long-term cooperation. This would help enhance the image and reputation of Vietnamese goods and further deepen Viet Nam - China economic and trade relations.

The opening ceremony attracted large numbers of local residents and visitors in Jinan, who came to explore and shop. Notably, the incorporation of traditional Vietnamese cultural and artistic elements into the programme left a strong impression on the local audience, contributing to the vibrant, accessible and emotive promotion of Viet Nam’s image, people and cultural identity.

Thematic seminar: “Expanding into the Vietnamese market”

On August 27, 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in coordination with the Vietnamese Trade Office at the Embassy of Viet Nam in China and the People’s Government of Shandong province, organised a thematic seminar entitled “Expanding into the Vietnamese Market”. The event was attended by nearly 50 representatives from Vietnamese investment-attraction agencies and Shandong associations and organisations seeking to explore the Vietnamese market.

At the seminar, representatives of the Embassy of Viet Nam in China and leaders of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Shandong expressed their readiness to continue serving as a bridge between the two sides, actively providing Shandong businesses with information on Viet Nam’s market and policies, and vice versa. They also pledged to improve the quality of trade and investment promotion activities and create favourable conditions for businesses from both sides to pursue specific cooperation projects.

A representative of the Bac Ninh Department of Industry and Trade expressed the expectation that the seminar would facilitate successful connections between businesses and associations from the two sides, and pledged to create the most favourable conditions for Shandong businesses to invest with confidence in Bac Ninh over the long term.

As part of the seminar, businesses from both sides gave an overview of their operations, principal business activities, capabilities and competitive strengths, while sharing their cooperation needs and proposals and seeking suitable partners.

Shandong is a major province, ranking second in China by population and third by GDP. According to data from Chinese Customs, in the first seven months of 2026, Viet Nam - Shandong import and export turnover reached USD 10.3 billion, up 31.6% year on year. Of this, Shandong’s exports to Viet Nam reached USD 7.4 billion, up 24.9%, while Shandong’s imports from Viet Nam stood at USD 2.9 billion, up 52.7%. Viet Nam ranked ninth among Shandong’s trading partners and third among its ASEAN trading partners, after Indonesia and Malaysia.