Can Tho (VNA) – Collaboration with partners, particularly Chinese businesses, remains a key focus in the city’s development agenda, stated Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Can Tho city Nguyen Tuan Anh during a working session with Consul General of China in Ho Chi Minh City Tang Li.
Anh said that following its administrative merger with Hau Giang and Soc Trang 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.
Can Tho 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 Can Tho 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, Can Tho would continue to grow rapidly in the coming years.
The Consul General noted that cooperation between Can Tho and Chinese localities and enterprises has become increasingly substantive and effective. Notable examples include the Can Tho waste-to-energy plant, invested by Everbright Environment, which processes more than 400 tonnes of household waste per day, accounting for 60% of the city’s total waste collection, and BESTWAY Group’s 300 million USD factory project launched in April, expected to generate over 5,000 direct jobs.
He expressed his hope that more Chinese enterprises would invest in Can Tho 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 Can Tho and Henan province in China to facilitate trade.
At present, Can Tho hosts 33 FDI projects with Chinese investment totalling approximately 930 million USD. In the first nine months of 2025, the city’s exports to China fetched 102.75 million USD, while imports stood at 79.5 million USD. Major traded goods include rice, seafood, agricultural and processed agricultural products, garments, feathers, pharmaceutical ingredients, agrochemicals, veterinary medicines, fertilisers, chemicals, and fabrics./.
VNA
