NA Chairman Vương Đình Huệ attends the policy and law forum in Yunnan province. — VNA/VNS Photo Nhan Sáng

HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam’s National Assembly (NA) stands ready to support cooperation between Vietnamese localities and China’s Yunnan province, NA Chairman Vương Đình Huệ affirmed at a law and policy forum held in Kunming city on Friday as part of his visit to the neighbouring country.

The forum on laws and policies to promote trade and investment ties between Việt Nam and China was the second of its kind held within the Vietnamese legislative leader’s six-day official visit, following the first in Shanghai.

Held in the border province of Yunnan, it saw the attendance of many Vietnamese and Chinese officials, and more than 450 representatives from businesses of the two countries.

It offered an opportunity for the two sides to exchange views on new cooperation trends, opportunities and solutions to reform the investment environment in each country, and raise proposals to improve cooperation efficiency.

In his remarks, NA Chairman Huệ stressed that Việt Nam attaches special importance to collaboration with border localities, including Yunnan, in its relations with China, and valued the fruitful cooperation between Yunnan and Vietnamese localities, particularly those in the northern border region.

The two sides boast many favourable conditions like the system of border gates, and share the wish to boost bilateral trade, the leader said, noting that to further tap both sides’ potential and strengths, they should speed up strategic connectivity and quickly implement cooperation documents signed during the recent visit to Việt Nam by Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping.

Huệ particularly mentioned the plan on cooperation in promoting connectivity between the “Two Corridors, One Belt” framework and the “Belt and Road” initiative, the agreement and protocol on the construction of a road bridge across the Red River in the Bát Xát (Việt Nam) - Ba Sa (China) border area, and the 2023-26 action plan for the implementation of the memorandum of understanding between the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and Yunnan’s authorities on enhancing economic and trade cooperation, and other memoranda of understanding regarding the railway sector.

The two sides should soon agree on a plan to connect the railway section between Việt Nam’s Lào Cai station and China’s Hekou North station, Huệ said.

The NA Chairman stressed that those cooperation projects will facilitate trade and investment exchanges between the two countries, and between Lào Cai and Yunnan.

According to him, businesses from Yunnan, with the strengths in capital, technology and administration experience, have advantages when investing in Việt Nam in such spheres as processing-manufacturing, high-tech agriculture, bio-industry, green economy, digital economy, circular economy, knowledge economy, transport infrastructure, highways, and high-speed and urban railway.

The NA Chairman asked relevant agencies of both sides to create a favourable environment for export, import and business activities of firms in the region, and pledged that the Vietnamese legislature has and will always accompany the entire political system to issue suitable policies and build a transparent, equal and comprehensive legal framework for foreign investors, including those from China.

Speaking at the forum, Vice Chairman of the Yunnan provincial government Liu Yong expressed his belief that the forum will help reinforce trust and open up new cooperation opportunities in economy, trade and investment between Yunnan and Vietnamese localities.

The economic and trade cooperation between Yunnan and Vietnamese localities has been thriving on the foundation of the political trust between leaders of the two Parties and countries, as well as the friendship between residents, he said.

Yunnan will step up the mutually beneficial collaboration, especially in the areas of its strengths and Vietnamese localities’ needs, the official affirmed.

On this occasion, NA Chairman Huệ and other delegates witnessed the exchange of cooperation documents between the two countries’ enterprises, covering aviation, supply chain finance, and robot design and manufacturing, among others.

Within the framework of the top legislator’s visit to China, national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines signed memoranda of understanding with Chinese partners with a total value of US$438 million. — VNS