During his working visit to Shandong, Nguyen Hong Thai, Member of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and Secretary of the Bac Ninh provincial Party Committee, met with Lin Wu, Member of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Secretary of the Shandong provincial Party Committee.

Secretary of the Bac Ninh Party Committee Nguyen Hong Thai, Secretary of the Shandong Party Committee Lin Wu and other delegates witness the signing of an agreement establishing the friendship and cooperation between the two provinces.

The meeting was also attended by Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang, and Vice Governor Wen Nuan and other leaders of Shandong province.

Welcoming the Bac Ninh delegation, Lin noted that exchanges between Shandong and Vietnam have grown increasingly close in recent years, with a number of Shandong businesses investing and manufacturing in Vietnam.

Bac Ninh delegation studies smart urban transport model using artificial intelligence at Shandong AI Island.

Two-way trade reached more than 103 billion RMB (about 14.4 billion USD) in 2025, up 24.6% year-on-year.

For his part, Thai thanked the Shandong authorities for their warm reception and spoke highly of the province’s development potential and achievements.

He affirmed that Bac Ninh attaches great importance to strengthening friendship and substantive cooperation with Shandong.

He briefed the Chinese side on Bac Ninh’s development potential, advantages and achievements, highlighting the province’s strategic position along economic corridors connecting Vietnam and China, as well as its growing industrial base and increasingly developed ecosystems in electronics and high technology.

Building on the complementary strengths of the two localities, Thai proposed stepping up delegation exchanges and coordination between agencies, promoting economic, trade and investment cooperation, and strengthening business connectivity.

He also called for expanded cooperation in science and technology, innovation, education, culture and people-to-people exchanges.

Bac Ninh is committed to working closely with Shandong to translate the agreed issues into concrete programmes, projects and results at an early date, he said.

At the meeting, Shandong Vice Governor Wen Nuan and Vice Chairman of the Bac Ninh People’s Committee Pham Van Thinh signed an agreement establishing the friendship and cooperation between the two provinces, in the presence of the Party chiefs and officials from both sides.

The same day, the Bac Ninh delegation attended the “Shandong–Vietnam Dialogue” trade and investment promotion conference.

Bac Ninh provincial delegation watches a quadruped robot demonstrate mobility and AI applications.

Emphasising the principle that “the success of businesses is the success of the province,” Thai said Bac Ninh would continue to stand alongside businesses and build a transparent, stable, favourable and secure investment environment.

He invited Shandong businesses to explore and expand investment in Bac Ninh, particularly in high technology, electronics, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, smart manufacturing, green industry, logistics and supporting industries.

Following the conference, Thinh held direct discussions with several businesses interested in investment opportunities in Bac Ninh, including Hainan Baijiahui Investment Co., Ltd. and Inspur Group.

Later that afternoon, the Bac Ninh delegation visited the Qilu Software Park in Jinan to learn about its artificial intelligence (AI) development model.

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