Vietnamese Ambassador to China Pham Sao Mai has met with Governor of Jiangsu province Wu Zhenglong to discuss a score of measures aimed at further strengthening co-operation between Vietnamese localities and China’s Jiangsu province.

Vietnamese Ambassador to China Pham Sao Mai and Governor
of Jiangsu province Wu Zhenglong

During the course of the meeting, Ambassador Mai briefed his host on some of the outstanding achievements recorded in socio-economic development, novel coronavirus (COVID-19) containment efforts, and the nation’s foreign affairs.

The Vietnamese diplomat said he is glad to see senior leaders of both nations regularly compare notes on strategic orientations in order to enjoy the stable and healthy development of bilateral ties. This is being done alongside the promotion of economic and trade co-operation, especially with both nations celebrating the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

Ambassador Mai noted his appreciation of the results of co-operation between Jiangsu and Vietnamese localities in recent times, especially in terms of economics, trade, investment, and mutual exchanges.

“There remains plenty for room broader co-operation between the two sides. We hope that Jiangsu province on the basis of existing good co-operation will continue researching, consolidating, and expanding the exchange mechanism of co-operation with Vietnamese localities as a means of stepping co-operation for mutual benefit.”

It was even suggested by the Ambassador that Jiangsu province continue to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese citizens, students, and enterprises to live, study, do business, and work in the locality. This could be done with the aim of promoting economic and trade co-operation in a balanced and efficient manner, with priority given to boosting the import of advantageous Vietnamese goods, especially agricultural and aquatic products.

Moving forward, the nation welcomes investment from Jiangsu’s reputable and high-quality enterprises in areas that can be considered the Chinese locality’s strengths, including manufacturing, supporting industries, infrastructure, and high-quality agriculture.

In response, the Governor of Jiangsu agreed with the proposals put forth by Ambassador Mai, affirming that his province places great importance on its relationship with the country. Indeed, they went on to express their wish to unite with other Vietnamese localities in order to effectively implement the common visions of senior leaders from the two countries.

Most notably, Jiangsu remains keen to expand and deepen mutually beneficial co-operation ties, especially in terms of economics, culture, education, science, and technology. This will be done whilst preserving the tradition of the time-honoured friendship between citizens of both countries to bring about practical benefits.

Jiangsu represents the most comprehensive and dynamic developed province throughout China, with GDP per capita, social welfare, integrated competitiveness, innovation capacity, 5G technology application, and artificial intelligence being top throughout the northern neighbour.

In 2019, Jiangsu’s GDP reached US$1,400 billion, making it the second highest in China after Guangdong, with a trade turnover of US$600 billion and foreign direct investment (FDI) accounting for between 20% and 25% of the national total.

Trade turnover between Jiangsu and the nation in 2019 stood at over US$18 billion, and US$14 billion during the first eight months of the year, marking an annual rise of 25.3%. By the end of 2019, Jiangsu had more than 200 investment projects in the country, with total investment of roughly US$1.5 billion.