Consulate General of Vietnam in Chongqing: Opening a new door to promote Vietnam-China relations

The opening of the Vietnamese Consulate General in Chongqing opens up opportunities to explore the potential for local cooperation with the western region of China.

Vietnamese Consul General in Chongqing Bui Nguyen Long presented the Consular Credentials of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China on May 20, 2025.

Sharing with The World and Vietnam Newspaper , Consul General Bui Nguyen Long emphasized the historical significance of Vietnam establishing a Consulate General in Chongqing city, and shared the potential for cooperation between the western region of China and Vietnamese localities.

The Vietnamese Consulate General in Chongqing was established and put into operation in May 2025. Could you share the significance of this important milestone for bilateral relations as well as your feelings when taking on the task of "paving the way" in a strategically located locality, which is the center of economic development, trade and logistics in the western region of China?

The establishment of Vietnam's Consulate General in Chongqing, China is not only an important event for the diplomatic sector, but also an important milestone of historical significance in the Vietnam-China Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, demonstrating the prospects for strategic cooperation between the two countries in the coming time.

The operation of the Vietnamese Consulate General in Chongqing is a substantial step forward, contributing to realizing the common vision of the two countries' senior leaders in the three Joint Statements during bilateral state visits from 2023 onwards.

In the context of the good development of relations between the two Parties and the two countries of Vietnam and China, I feel very honored to be assigned the important responsibility of paving the way for the operation of the Vietnamese Consulate General in Chongqing City. This is the first time the Vietnamese Government has established a diplomatic representative office in Western China. I consider this an area with great potential for comprehensive cooperation with Vietnam.

The Consulate General's consular area covers Chongqing city and Sichuan province, both of which are strategically important localities in China's development plan in particular and in Vietnam-China cooperation in general.

Chongqing City is positioned by China as the pillar of the Western Development Strategy, the intersection of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, a gateway connecting the world on land with priority given to high-quality economic development. Meanwhile, Sichuan Province is oriented to become a locality with a green and balanced development model, a national ecological shield combined with a center for promoting Chinese culture and tourism, playing the role of a high-tech locomotive, and a capital for developing the semiconductor industry.

Vietnam is targeting 8% economic growth in 2025, double-digit growth by 2030. We are also actively implementing important Central Resolutions on institutional reform, international integration, science and technology development, innovation, digital transformation and private economic development. In that context, strengthening cooperation with the Southwest region of China, which currently contributes over 10% of the total Vietnam-China trade turnover, will open up opportunities for cooperation in various fields, especially cooperation in the strengths of Chongqing and Sichuan that Vietnam is in need of. That is, building a modern transportation and logistics network, connecting infrastructure smoothly, developing high technology, industrial production, applying high-tech agriculture, developing renewable energy, sustainable tourism, training human resources, etc.

What plans does the Consulate General have to explore and promote those cooperation potentials?

Chongqing and Sichuan have a total area of 568 thousand square kilometers and a population of nearly 120 million people. They are the economic, scientific, technological, cultural and educational centers of Southwest China.

With an economic scale of 1,350 billion USD in 2024 and accounting for over 7% of China's total GDP, Chongqing and Sichuan have an economic growth rate higher than the national average. In particular, with its location at the strategic connection point of the "Belt and Road" and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, Chongqing City has a natural advantage in four-modal transportation, including road - rail - waterway and air; has a logistics system connecting inland with 72 cities in 18 provinces of China, and access to 538 ports in 125 countries and regions worldwide.

On the basis of Vietnam's relatively open economy, our localities have the conditions to take advantage of and effectively promote the advantages of geographical proximity, strengthen infrastructure connections with Chongqing and Sichuan to gradually penetrate deeper and more conveniently into the Chinese market and promote the export of goods and services to the European market.

In practice, compared to shipping goods from Vietnam to Europe by waterway, rail transport through Southwest China has the same cost but the shipping time can be shortened to one-third. In addition, the economies of the two localities have strengths that complement Vietnam's economic sectors. Chongqing and Sichuan, with developed industries, focus on research and development (R&D) and high-tech manufacturing, especially in the fields of automobile manufacturing, electric vehicle batteries, electronic components, and chips - semiconductors. Therefore, not only localities but also Vietnamese enterprises will have access to new and modern technologies.

In the context of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries constantly deepening, I believe that the potential for cooperation between Vietnamese localities and Chongqing and Sichuan is huge, with a wide scope for comprehensive cooperation.

Adhering to the foreign policy of the Party and State, identifying diplomacy serving the country's economic development as a key task, the Consulate General will proactively learn and share valuable experiences of these two localities with provinces and cities of Vietnam in related fields such as trade, culture, tourism, urban planning, infrastructure development with inter-regional and inter-local connectivity, etc.; at the same time, actively connect and promote effective cooperation between localities and businesses of the two countries, creating the most favorable conditions for friendly exchanges and enhancing mutual understanding between the people of Vietnam and Chongqing, Sichuan.

Consul General Bui Nguyen Long met with Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Sichuan Province Zhang Tao on June 24, 2025.

2025 is the Vietnam-China Humanitarian Exchange Year. Could the Consul General share the Consulate General's planned activities to promote friendly exchanges between the two countries?

The year 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries (1950-2025), and is also the year identified by the two countries' senior leaders as the Vietnam-China Humanitarian Exchange Year. Based on the identification of the strengths of Chongqing and Sichuan in terms of culture, education, tourism, etc., as well as the comparative advantages of Vietnam in related fields, in its role as a newly established representative agency, the Consulate General will actively implement the following plans:

Firstly , actively promote cultural, artistic and historical exchanges between the people, scholars and researchers of the two countries on the basis that Vietnam and China both have a rich culture, rich cuisine, diverse arts, many similarities and unique features. In addition, Chongqing city is also where Uncle Ho conducted revolutionary activities before 1945; the relic of Uncle Ho's Office is respected by the local government and preserved at the Hongyan Revolutionary Museum, an important red address contributing to educating revolutionary traditions and close cooperative relations between the two Parties and the two countries of Vietnam and China.

Second , strengthen connections with local government education agencies, prestigious universities and educational institutions in Chongqing and Sichuan, especially in areas where you have strengths such as medicine, electronics, engineering, construction, artificial intelligence, etc., thereby promoting the development of joint training programs, student exchanges, scholarships, as well as creating necessary conditions for Vietnamese students to live and study in the Southwest region of China.

Third , strengthen coordination with relevant agencies and organizations to organize activities to promote Vietnam's tourism potential and scenic spots to tourists from Chongqing and Sichuan, especially in the context that these two localities are located deep inland and have no coastline; at the same time, persistently promote administrative procedure reform, closely following legal regulations to create maximum favorable conditions in issuing Vietnam entry and exit documents for local tourists.

Upon taking up his assignment in Chongqing, what was the Consul General's first impression of this locality?

I have always been deeply aware of the mission of promoting cooperation between Vietnam and Southwest China. When I came to Chongqing, I was really impressed by the vibrant life and development here.

When witnessing the five-level traffic intersection with eight connecting directions, along with the tunnel systems through the mountains, the irrigation embankment system on the Yangtze River, the subway system, the elevated train system going through the buildings, the planning of financial districts, food streets, automobile factories, cultural and historical works preserved for thousands of years... of Chongqing city, I realized that this will be a valuable source of experience that Vietnam can refer to, learn from, and can also be a model, a technology, an international resource for Vietnamese agencies and localities to research and apply to serve the country's development.

During the first days in the area, I also received support and facilitation from the local authorities of Chongqing city and Sichuan province, which showed the goodwill and respect of your side to promote cooperative relations with Vietnam.

I also determined that in the coming time, there will be a lot of work to be carried out, especially promoting the Consulate General to stabilize and come into operation; continuing to explore, explore and realize the potential for cooperation into specific results. In particular, the focus is on promoting the connection of infrastructure, transportation, logistics, promoting cooperation, learning from experiences in science and technology development, digital transformation, promoting Vietnamese enterprises and localities to cooperate with Chinese enterprises and localities; promoting the establishment of sister cities, enhancing trade exchanges, increasing the flow of Vietnamese goods into the Chinese market, promoting friendly cooperation, people-to-people exchanges... continuing to make positive contributions to the Vietnam-China Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership.

Thank you very much Consul General!

Chongqing is positioned by China as the pillar of the Western Development Strategy, the intersection of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and a gateway to global connectivity on land with priority given to high-quality economic development. (Source: shutterstock)

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tong-lanh-su-quan-viet-nam-tai-trung-khanh-mo-canh-cua-moi-thuc-day-quan-he-viet-trung-321384.html