On the afternoon of March 19, Comrade Lê Trung Kiên, Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Head of the Hai Phong Economic Zone Authority, chaired a working session with delegations from Hekou County, Yunnan Province, China, and Lao Cai Province on the development of economic zones and free trade zones. Representatives from several relevant Hai Phong departments and Cat Hai District also attended.
From Hekou County, Yunnan, the delegation included Mr. Wu Yang (Vu Dương), Secretary of Hekou County Party Committee and Head of the Management Board of the Honghe Pilot Free Trade Zone in Yunnan Province, along with leaders from the People's Government of Hekou and the Free Trade Zone Management Board. The Lao Cai delegation was led by Mr. Vượng Trinh Quốc, Head of Lao Cai Economic Zone Management Authority, together with officials from the Legislative Council and Provincial People’s Committee office.
At the meeting, Mr. Lê Trung Kiên emphasized the strong and comprehensive diplomatic relationship between Vietnam and China, especially in economic, trade and investment cooperation. China ranks second among the 42 countries and territories with FDI in Hai Phong, with 245 projects from Chinese investors totaling USD 6.2 billion—accounting for 22% of total FDI in Hai Phong’s economic zones and industrial parks.
He noted that Hekou County borders Vietnam via Lào Cai international border gate and plays a key role in multimodal transport, particularly through the Vietnam–China railway connection. Hekou’s successful establishment and operation of the Honghe Pilot Free Trade Zone, the Technical Economic Development Zone in Mohan, and the integrated bonded area in Honghe offer valuable new global economic development models that Hai Phong is studying and learning from.
Mr. Wu Yang expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome from Hai Phong and expressed a strong desire to exchange knowledge and promote cooperation in transportation, passenger and cargo logistics, healthcare, tourism, and other potential strengths. He proposed establishing a friendly cooperation mechanism between Hai Phong Economic Zone and the Yunnan (China) Free Trade Zone—including Honghe/Kunming—with ongoing joint activities to further deepen ties, commemorating the 75th anniversary of Vietnam–China diplomatic relations.
During the session, representatives from Hai Phong and Hekou County discussed cooperation in key sectors, including developing the Kunming–Lào Cai–Hanoi–Hai Phong standard‑gauge railway and maximizing the role of the parallel expressway corridor. They also explored restoring a direct flight route between Hai Phong and Yunnan to boost passenger and cargo transport and tourism. A friendship cooperation framework was proposed between Hai Phong Economic Zone and the Yunnan (China) Free Trade Zone, in the Kunming and Honghe areas.