On the morning of September 26, 2025, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien held talks with Mr. Lin Yu, Party Secretary of Shandong province, China, who was leading a working delegation to Vietnam. The meeting aimed to further implement the common understandings reached by the senior leaders of the two countries on expanding bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

Representatives from key departments of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, including the Foreign Market Development Department, the Import-Export Department, the Trade Promotion Agency, the E-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency, and the Industry Agency attended the meeting.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien extended his congratulations to Party Secretary Lin Yu, the Shandong delegation, and the people of China on the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. He highlighted the significance of the Shandong delegation’s visit, which included a large number of enterprises, and reaffirmed the Ministry’s high regard for the province’s role. The success of the Vietnam-China (Shandong) trade, investment, and Business Connectivity Conference, co-hosted by the Ministry and Shandong province on September 25, underscored the strong demand, interest, and vast potential for cooperation between the two sides.

In his remarks, Party Secretary Lin Yu expressed his appreciation for the warm and thoughtful reception extended by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade. He emphasized that Shandong places special importance on economic and trade cooperation with Vietnam, and viewed the meeting as an opportunity to effectively advance the common understandings of senior leaders. He stressed the province’s readiness to promote practical cooperation projects and strengthen exchanges and connectivity.

Mr. Lin outlined Shandong’s current priorities in economic development, focusing on four key areas: fostering new productive forces tailored to practical conditions; vigorously advancing energy transition; comprehensively expanding domestic demand; ensuring sound coordination among reform, development, and stability.

To further enhance cooperation with Vietnam, Shandong proposed continued implementation of the bilateral Memorandum of Understanding on Economic and Trade Cooperation, acceleration of major joint projects, and expanded industrial collaboration in areas such as rubber tires, textiles, new energy, the digital economy, and equipment manufacturing. The province also suggested exploring new cooperative projects, broadening bilateral trade through business delegations, trade fairs, and cross-border e-commerce, and introducing more high-quality products into each other’s markets.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien welcomed and strongly endorsed Shandong’s proposals. He noted that trade between Shandong and Vietnam reached only USD 11.6 billion in 2024, accounting for just 4.5% of total Vietnam–China trade, a figure that does not fully reflect the scale and complementary potential of both sides. He called for more robust efforts, including effective implementation of the August 2024 Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the People’s Government of Shandong province, encouraging Shandong enterprises to increase investment in Vietnam and develop supply chains for priority industrial products, and expanding bilateral trade through trade promotion activities, exhibitions, and product showcases.

Minister Dien also proposed that Shandong enhance imports of Vietnamese strengths, particularly agricultural products, share experience in processing and exporting farm produce, and strengthen logistics cooperation. He emphasized facilitating Vietnamese enterprises in brand promotion and market development in China, especially through Shandong’s major distribution systems.

Party Secretary Lin Yu affirmed that the purpose of his visit was to advance the directives of the senior leadership of both countries on strengthening economic and trade relations. He expressed full agreement with Minister Dien’s views and confirmed Shandong’s readiness to encourage imports of high-quality Vietnamese agricultural and aquatic products to meet its strong demand. He also suggested establishing Vietnamese product distribution centers in Shandong, initially in Qingdao and Jinan, and pledged to work closely with Vietnam in organizing trade promotion programs and creating cooperation opportunities for Vietnamese institutions and enterprises in the province.

On this occasion, Mr. Lin Yu invited Minister Nguyen Hong Dien to lead a delegation to attend the “Dialogue with Shandong” event scheduled for next year. Minister Dien expressed his appreciation for the invitation and his wish to soon visit Shandong to exchange further measures to deepen cooperation between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Shandong province, as well as between Vietnam and China more broadly.

Following the talks, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien and Party Secretary Lin Yu witnessed the signing ceremony of the “List of Key Tasks for the 2025-2027 period to implement the Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Economic and Trade Cooperation between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and the People’s Government of Shandong province, China.”

Background on Shandong: Shandong is a coastal province in eastern China, holding a pivotal role in the country’s economy. It ranks third nationwide in GRDP and second in population, with 100.8 million residents as of 2024. The province is an industrial hub with 41 major industries and serves as a key node in China’s northern economic development strategy. In 2024, Shandong’s GRDP exceeded RMB 9.856 trillion (approximately USD 1.38 trillion), growing 5.7% year-on-year.

According to Chinese Customs data, Vietnam–Shandong trade turnover reached USD 9.12 billion in the first eight months of 2025, up 18.86% from the same period in 2024. Vietnam’s exports to Shandong stood at USD 2.17 billion, a 29.36% increase, while imports from Shandong totaled USD 6.95 billion, up 15.93%. Vietnam is Shandong’s ninth-largest trading partner globally, and its third-largest within ASEAN, after Malaysia and Indonesia.