A forum aimed at strengthening economic, commercial and investment cooperation between six Vietnamese provinces and western China ’s Chongqing city opened here on Sept. 8.

Deputy Foreign Minister Doan Xuan Hung is heading the Vietnamese delegation comprising representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Planning and Investment, and Industry and Trade, the Administration of Tourism and 53 enterprises from Thai Nguyen, Quang Ninh, Ninh Binh, Binh Dinh, Binh Thuan and Ca Mau.

Chongqing city’s Vice Mayor Zhou Mubing and representatives from more than 160 local companies attended the event.

Opening the forum, Vietnamese Ambassador to China Nguyen Van Tho said Vietnam and China have enjoyed a time-honoured friendship.

China ’s open-door policy and the renewal process of Vietnam have recorded numerous great achievements of historical significance, he said, adding that promoting comprehensive cooperation between the two sides is in line with the interests of the Vietnamese and Chinese people.

Zhou told the participants that Chongqing city has posted an annual average growth rate of over 14 percent, with GDP exceeding 500 billion CNY a year, ranking third amongst China ’s provinces and cities.

He said an increasing number of companies from Chongqing have flocked to Vietnam to explore investment opportunities.

“ Chongqing is willing to cooperate with and create favourable conditions for Vietnamese partners,” the vice mayor stressed.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hung spoke highly of China ’s gains in coping with the global financial crisis and Chongqing ’s recent steps in development.

Fine political ties have facilitated economic cooperation between Vietnam and China , Hung said, noting that two-way trade surged by 40 percent to 20.1 billion USD in 2008.

By the end of last year, China had invested 2.1 billion USD in 628 projects in Vietnam , the diplomat added.

At the forum, the participants were briefed about Vietnam ’s investment environment and incentives as well as Vietnam-China cooperation in trade, investment and tourism.

A range of activities were organised as part of the event, aiming to introduce each other’s projects calling for investment and highlighting their potential for tourism, as well as promoting products produced by businesses from both sides./.