National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue received and worked with the Chairman of Sunwah Group (Hong Kong-China)

DNHN - The working session took place within the framework of the “Policy and Legal Forum to Promote Investment and Trade Cooperation between Vietnam and China” in Yunnan Province, China.

On the morning of April 12, 2024, within the framework of the official visit to China by the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation led by National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, Dr Jonathan Choi - Standing Member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Chairman of the Hong Kong - Vietnam Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Bay Area Entrepreneurs Alliance, and Chairman of Sunwah Group (Hong Kong) had a private meeting and discussion with National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue in Yunnan Province, China.

During the meeting, Dr Jonathan Choi introduced the history of Sunwah Group’s investment and development in Vietnam. He shared that the three generations of the Choi family have always considered Vietnam as their second home, therefore, for over 50 years, Sunwah Group has always strived to promote cooperation between Vietnam and China in areas such as trade, agriculture, finance, culture, education, and innovation. Dr Jonathan Choi is also the Chairman of VinaCapital Investment Fund with investment portfolios across Vietnam.

Currently, the total accumulated investment capital of Sunwah Group in Vietnam is approximately 5 billion USD. In addition, Sunwah Group has been and is continuously promoting community service projects in Vietnam. The Ulis - Jonathan KS Choi Cultural Centre located on the campus of Vietnam National University, Hanoi since its establishment 10 years ago, has always been a venue to welcome and implement cooperative projects to promote education, culture, science and technology, and exchange and innovation between Vietnam, China and other countries. In addition, Sunwah Group is also very interested in the development of young people in the field of Start-ups and Innovation, through the establishment and development of Sunwah Innovation Centres in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and many other countries and regions around the world.

Dr Jonathan Choi particularly expressed: “With the strong promotion of Chinese and Vietnamese leaders, the cooperative relationship between the two sides has entered a new era, which is more open with many unprecedented opportunities, creating many cooperative prospects for investors and enterprises of both sides”.

“Sunwah Group is also expanding its investment and focusing on developing industrial parks in Vietnam, in which we are currently prioritising investment opportunities in Dong Nai province and the provinces surrounding Hanoi. At the border gates of Yunnan and Vietnam, the Group also plans to develop industrial parks to promote cooperation and exchange in industry, agriculture, culture, and tourism between the two sides. Based on the Strategic Cooperation Agreement signed between Sunwah Group and Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province, as well as the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Sunwah Group and the Department of Industry and Trade of Lao Cai Province in early 2024,” said Mr Choi.

He added that in the near future, Sunwah plans to invest in building and operating an Industrial Park in Lao Cai province, with an initial area of about 100 hectares, which will then be gradually expanded according to the actual development situation. Through this Industrial Park, together with the Group’s extensive network, Sunwah hopes to actively contribute to promoting the export of Vietnamese agricultural products to the Chinese market through both e-commerce and traditional channels.

Based on the discussion between the two sides, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue highly appreciated the contributions of Chairman Jonathan Choi and Sunwah Group over the past 50 years in Vietnam. He also shared that Yunnan is strategically located as a gateway to Southeast Asia. Therefore, the National Assembly Chairman highly appreciated Sunwah Group’s development of industrial parks around the border area of the two provinces of Yunnan and Lao Cai. This not only promotes the economic development of Lao Cai but also boosts the development of the northern provinces of Vietnam.

Currently, the Vietnamese Government is also actively promoting the construction of the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong standard-gauge railway and is striving to pass the railway investment proposal in the National Assembly this year. At the same time, Vietnam is also actively promoting the construction of a cross-border expressway bridge in Bat Xat, Lao Cai. The improvement of these infrastructures will be a driving force for enhanced cooperation between China and Vietnam and between Yunnan and Lao Cai. The National Assembly Chairman hopes that Sunwah Group will seize the opportunity and participate in the development of the above projects and with the influence of Chairman Jonathan Choi, together with the Group’s multi-sector development and resource autonomy, Sunwah can strengthen its connection with international experts and enterprises, forming a tripartite cooperation model to transfer high technology to Vietnam.

He also congratulated Sunwah Group, under the leadership and wise vision of Dr Jonathan Choi, for having achieved and will continue to achieve even greater development and make more new achievements in promoting multi-sector cooperation between Vietnam and China, especially with the border provinces.

On the same day, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and the high-ranking delegation attended the “Policy and Legal Forum to Promote Investment and Trade Cooperation between Vietnam and China”, which was co-chaired by the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Vietnam and the Yunnan Provincial Department of Commerce.

In his opening remarks at the forum, Liu Yong, Vice Governor of Yunnan Province, shared that Yunnan is geographically adjacent to Vietnam, acting as a gateway for exchange and trade with Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries. In order to make efforts to implement the consensus reached by the state leaders of the two sides, Yunnan affirms that it will always create the best conditions and actively support the cooperation and implementation between enterprises of the two countries, to further deepen and elevate the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and China. He also hopes that Vietnam and China can, through international trade exhibitions, economic dialogue forums, as well as other exchange and interaction activities, further promote economic, trade and investment cooperation in various fields between the two countries. Yunnan and Vietnam, with a long border and great similarities in culture and community life, can further enhance exchanges in culture, education, tourism, etc.

At the forum, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said that this important event during the official visit to China by the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation demonstrates that the neighbourly, friendly and comprehensive cooperative relationship between Vietnam and China continues to develop strongly, achieving many new and great progresses, in which economic - trade - investment cooperation is constantly deepening, becoming more substantial and becoming a bright spot in the relations between the two countries.

Assessing that economic, trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and China still has a lot of room for development, and that enterprises of the two countries have a full legal framework and favourable conditions to connect, trade and cooperate, to become important links in the regional and global supply chains, the National Assembly Chairman suggested some orientations to further promote the potential and strengths of the two sides, making economic, trade and investment cooperation a true pillar of cooperation between the two countries.

At the forum, leaders of ministries, sectors, localities and enterprises of the two sides exchanged information on socio-economic development policies as well as strategic orientations to attract investment and the great potential for cooperation between Vietnam and China.

Uyen Nhi