Businesses from HCM City and Shandong sign agreements at a conference held in HCM City on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo Xuân Anh

HCM CITY — HCM City and Chinese provinces situated along the Yellow River, like Shandong, Shanxi and Qinghai, have great potential for economic, trade and investment ties as they have cultural similarities and their goods structures are complementary, a conference heard in the city on Monday.

Song Junji, Deputy Governor of Shandong, said the conference sought to build a foundation for co-operation and boost bilateral trade.

Shandong has the third largest economy in China with industrial production of more than one trillion yuan (US$139.3 billion), the country’s highest, he said.

HCM City is Việt Nam’s largest economic hub, with trade, information technology, and tourism growing rapidly and potential for extensive economic co-operation with Chinese localities, especially those situated on the Yellow River, he said.

Nguyễn Văn Dũng, Deputy Chairman of the city People’s Committee, said HCM City attaches importance to co-operation with Chinese localities.

China is one of HCM City’s biggest trading partners and ranks 17th in the list of 122 countries and territories that have invested in it, he said.

Chinese investors have 590 projects worth a total of more than $303 million, he said.

HCM City hopes to enhance co-operation with Shandong and other provinces on the Yellow River in areas such as construction, healthcare, education, culture, tourism, and the digital and green economies, he said.

HCM City is seeking to become a smart city and logistics hub and achieve economic breakthroughs, he said.

He added that HCM City hoped Shandong and localities on the banks of the Yellow River would increase imports from it and encourage their businesses with science, technology and innovation advantages to invest here.

Wei Huaxiang, the Chinese consul general in HCM City, said Shandong has a long history of co-operation with Việt Nam’s southern localities, including HCM City, and many of its renowned companies have invested in the city.

At the conference, businesses from the two countries signed many agreements related to agriculture, food and industrial materials. —VNS