Vietnam-China economic, trade and investment ties entering a new "golden era"

The Western China International Investment and Trade Fair is one of China’s major economic, trade and investment promotion platforms in the western region, while also serving as a gateway connecting the area with ASEAN and international markets.

The 8th edition of the fair was held at the Chongqing International Expo Center, covering around 110,000 square meters with nine thematic exhibition zones focusing on advanced manufacturing, logistics services, e-commerce, international cooperation and regional connectivity.

In recent years, the event has attracted thousands of enterprises, multinational corporations, Fortune 500 companies, along with government leaders, ministries and trade promotion organizations from many countries and territories.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan reaffirmed that Vietnam always values trade, industrial and investment cooperation with China. Amid ongoing global economic volatility, the fair provides an important platform for businesses from different countries to strengthen connectivity, exchange information, seek partners and jointly address common challenges effectively.

The Deputy Minister emphasized that Vietnam-China economic and trade cooperation continues to serve as a bright spot in bilateral relations. Within that framework, Chongqing plays an important role as an industrial and logistics hub of Southwest China, while also acting as a strategic gateway linking ASEAN with Central Asia, South Asia and Europe through the China-Europe Railway Express and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

On this occasion, the Ministry of Industry and Trade delegation also visited the Vietnam Pavilion at the fair, organized by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Office in Chongqing, recognizing the proactive efforts of Vietnamese enterprises in promoting products, connecting with partners and expanding access to the Southwest China market.

As part of WCIFIT 2026, the Vietnam–China (Chongqing) Investment and Trade Cooperation Conference was successfully held in Chongqing on the afternoon of May 21, 2026.

The conference was jointly organized by Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government, attracting around 200 delegates representing regulatory agencies, trade promotion organizations, industry associations and business communities from both countries.

Participants included Deputy Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan; Xu Jian, Vice Mayor of the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government; Bui Nguyen Long, Consul General of Vietnam in Chongqing; alongside representatives of trade promotion agencies and nearly 200 enterprises from the two countries.

Addressing the conference, Deputy Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan highlighted that Vietnam-China economic, trade and investment relations are entering a new “golden era” with many positive outcomes. China has remained Vietnam’s largest trading partner for 21 consecutive years, while Vietnam is currently China’s largest trading partner in ASEAN and ranks fourth globally in terms of trade volume with China.

In 2025, bilateral trade turnover reached approximately USD 252 billion, while Chinese investment in Vietnam totaled nearly USD 5.7 billion, up more than 33% year-on-year.

According to the Deputy Minister, Chongqing holds a particularly important position within the broader Vietnam-China economic cooperation framework thanks to its role as an industrial, logistics and strategic connectivity hub in Southwest China.

In recent years, cooperation between Vietnam and Chongqing has continued to expand across trade, logistics, manufacturing, supporting industries, e-commerce and supply chain connectivity. In 2025, trade turnover between Vietnam and Chongqing reached approximately USD 6.2 billion, up 11% compared to 2024.

Chongqing and Vietnam highly complementary in industry, logistics and markets

During the opening ceremony, Xu Jian, Vice Mayor of the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government, said that China-Vietnam economic and trade cooperation is entering a new stage of development, with trade volumes continuously setting new records, investment flows rising strongly and supply chains becoming increasingly integrated.

He stressed that Chongqing is an important gateway for China’s inland opening-up strategy, possessing advantages in market scale, industrial capacity, logistics systems and strategic connectivity within Southwest China.

Xu Jian also noted that in 2025, total import-export turnover between Chongqing and Vietnam reached approximately RMB 44.51 billion, up 11.9% year-on-year. Chongqing-based enterprises have invested nearly USD 300 million in Vietnam through 98 projects.

Going forward, Chongqing will continue strengthening coordination with Vietnamese ministries and localities to promote policy dialogue, expand trade and investment promotion activities and develop new areas of cooperation based on mutual benefit and shared development.

Within the framework of the conference, Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Chongqing Municipal Government signed a “Three-Year Action Plan (2026-2028) for Implementing the Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Economic and Trade Cooperation.”

At the same time, multiple memoranda of understanding were exchanged between enterprises, industrial parks and investment promotion organizations from both sides, focusing on industrial investment, logistics, infrastructure development and bilateral trade expansion.

Speaking at the conference, Jesse Choi, ASEAN Regional General Manager of Sunwah Group Hong Kong, said Vietnam-China cooperation is shifting strongly from traditional trade toward supply chain coordination, high technology, logistics and cross-border e-commerce.

He assessed that Chongqing and Vietnam are highly complementary in terms of industry, logistics and markets, while expressing expectations that both sides will further strengthen cooperation in high technology, artificial intelligence, green transportation and digital trade in the coming period.

The conference also devoted considerable time to introducing investment and trade cooperation potential and facilitating direct business matching (B2B) between enterprises from the two countries.

At the event, Nguyen Ba Hai, Deputy Director of the Trade and Investment Promotion Support Center under the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, presented an overview of Vietnam’s investment and business environment, highlighting key advantages such as a market of over 100 million people, a network of 17 free trade agreements (FTAs), a strategic position in regional supply chains, and the country’s orientation toward green growth, digital economy and high-tech development in the years ahead.

Alongside investment promotion and business networking activities, the conference also featured vibrant and practical B2B matchmaking sessions between Vietnamese and Chinese enterprises.

Businesses from both sides actively exchanged information, explored market demand, production capabilities and cooperation opportunities in supporting industries, logistics, e-commerce, industrial park infrastructure, and agricultural, food and consumer goods trade.

Many Vietnamese enterprises highly appreciated cooperation potential with partners from Chongqing and Southwest China, particularly in supply chain connectivity, distribution network expansion and cross-border trade development.

Chinese enterprises expressed strong interest in Vietnam’s investment environment, manufacturing capabilities, industrial park systems and investment attraction policies, while also seeking to strengthen long-term cooperation with Vietnamese partners in the coming years.

Through the conference, business communities from both countries enhanced market information exchange, partner search and cooperation opportunities in import-export, logistics, industrial production, industrial park infrastructure and two-way investment.

The event once again reaffirmed the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s role as a bridge in promoting international economic cooperation, while contributing to the stable, balanced and sustainable development of Vietnam-China economic and trade relations in the new period.