Shanghai to boost trade with Vietnam

Hue was briefed on the SHFTZ's establishment, development, and its significant achievements. "We exchanged views on institutional frameworks, operational mechanisms, and the unique, targeted policies that have been instrumental in the development of the SHFTZ," Hue said.

Piloted in 2013, the SHFTZ was China's first free trade zone, launched as part of the country's strategy to embrace multilateral and diversified opening-up policies. Since then, China has established 22 similar zones.

In the past decade and more, SHFTZ has evolved into a flagship model for economic innovation, significantly expanding Shanghai's economic scale and attracting substantial foreign investment. By the end of 2022, SHFTZ housed 84,000 new companies, with the newer Pudong area alone drawing almost 18,700 foreign ventures, accumulating registered capital exceeding $217 billion and increasing goods trade from around $208 billion in 2013 to more than $340 billion in 2022.

Chairman Hue expressed gratitude to the SHFTZ leaders for their detailed explanations of the zone’s mechanisms, policies, and legal framework. He also voiced his hope that the National People's Congress of China and the Shanghai authorities would continue to share their experiences with Vietnamese legislative bodies in crafting institutional frameworks for the operation of free trade zones.

China Duty Free, owned by state-owned travel company China Tourism, has signed a deal with Vietnamese conglomerate Imex Pan Pacific Group (IPPG) to open three duty-free shops in Vietnam to draw in Chinese tourists.

Despite the gloomy global economic landscape, trade between Vietnam and China maintained positive momentum last year, with China emerging as Vietnam's largest trading partner in 2023 and trade turnover between the two countries valued at just under $172 billion.