Chongqing fosters closer ties with Vietnam

Haifu Medical Technology Industrial Park in Liangjiang New Area. [Photo by Lan Tian] 

Benh Vien Phu San Thien An Hospital in Vietnam recently performed the country's first non-invasive uterine fibroid surgery using a focused ultrasound tumor treatment system. Introduced to Vietnam in September, this advanced system was developed by Liangjiang-based Haifu Technology, which holds independent intellectual property rights. 

Another Liangjiang-based company, Chongqing ORAW Medical Technology Co, reached agreements with several hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City during an exhibition hosted by Vietnam's Ministry of Health. 

According to a company manager, ORAW specializes in intelligent hardware, software, and medical devices and sees Vietnam as its initial step toward international expansion. 

Since 2019, surging exchanges and cooperation with Vietnam have made it Chongqing's top trading partner in Southeast Asia. Vietnam exports coffee, fruits, and seafood to Chongqing, while Chongqing exports cars and motorcycles to Vietnam.

Vietnam leads Southeast Asia in cargo volume transported via the International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) from Chongqing. As of September, 53,000 twenty-foot equivalent

units (TEUs) valued at 11.4 billion yuan ($1.58 billion) have been sent via the ILSTC from Chongqing to Vietnam.

The figures for the first nine months of this year were 10,000 TEUs and 2.78 billion yuan, up 54 percent and 160 percent year over year, respectively.

Expanding trade routes have encouraged entrepreneurs like Zheng Yijun, the general manager of a trading company that specializes in exporting machinery and motorcycle parts to Vietnam, to increase their investments in Southeast Asia.

Zheng noted that the ILSTC trains to Vietnam are efficient and cost only half the price of road transportation and two-thirds of land-sea transportation. In the first eight months of this year, his company achieved $20.57 million in exports, marking an 18 percent year-on-year increase.

Increasing trade exchanges have led to broader cooperation. In 2013, CISDI, a state-owned engineering service provider, established a subsidiary in Vietnam and undertook several key local metallurgical projects.

The Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation factory, one of Southeast Asia's most competitive steelmakers, was designed, constructed, and operated jointly by CISDI. This venture created over 10,000 jobs and transformed Ha Tinh Province from an agricultural region into a significant industrial base in central Vietnam. 

An official from the Chongqing municipal commission of commerce noted that cooperation between Vietnam and Chongqing has deepened in trade, technology, science, and humanities, with increased personnel exchanges. Data from Chongqing Customs shows that international trade between Chongqing and Vietnam reached 27.42 billion yuan in the first nine months of this year.