The working session between the Cần Thơ Party Committee and Consul General of China in HCM City Tang Li. — VNA/VNS Photo

CẦN THƠ — Collaboration with partners, particularly Chinese businesses, remains a key focus in the city’s development agenda, stated Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Cần Thơ City Nguyễn Tuấn Anh during a working session with Consul General of China in HCM City Tang Li.

Anh said that following its administrative merger with Hậu Giang and Sóc Trăng provinces, the Mekong Delta city has formulated a new development strategy with a broader spatial framework and enhanced position. Among the city’s top priorities are foreign affairs, international cooperation, and attracting investment from overseas enterprises.

Cần Thơ wishes to strengthen cooperation with Chinese partners in science, technology and innovation, industry, high-tech agriculture, agricultural processing, transport, and urban infrastructure development, including smart city projects, he said, adding the city also looks to deepen exchanges in culture, arts, education, and tourism in the time ahead.

Tang Li highlighted that Cần Thơ has long provided favourable conditions for Chinese enterprises to operate and for the local Chinese community to live, study and work. With its strategic location as the hub of the Mekong Delta and its abundant natural resources, the city has gained new development momentum following the administrative merger. He expressed confidence that under the city’s leadership, Cần Thơ would continue to grow rapidly in the coming years.

The Consul General noted that cooperation between Cần Thơ and Chinese localities and enterprises has become increasingly substantive and effective. Notable examples include the Cần Thơ waste-to-energy plant, invested by Everbright Environment, which processes more than 400 tonnes of household waste per day, accounting for 60 per cent of the city’s total waste collection, and BESTWAY Group’s US$300 million factory project launched in April, expected to generate over 5,000 direct jobs.

He expressed his hope that more Chinese enterprises would invest in Cần Thơ in fields such as agriculture, import–export and processing of agricultural and aquatic products, manufacturing, wind power, climate change adaptation, tourism, and education. He also proposed opening a cargo flight route between Cần Thơ and Henan Province in China to facilitate trade.

At present, Cần Thơ hosts 33 FDI projects with Chinese investment totalling approximately $930 million. In the first nine months of 2025, the city’s exports to China fetched $102.75 million, while imports stood at $79.5 million. Major traded goods include rice, seafood, agricultural and processed agricultural products, garments, feathers, pharmaceutical ingredients, agrochemicals, veterinary medicines, fertilisers, chemicals, and fabrics. — VNS