Vietnamese Ambassador to China Pham Thanh Binh gives a speech at the session in Beijing on May 18, 2026. Photo: Courtesy of the Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in China

The Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in China and the International Cooperation Center of China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) jointly hosted China-Vietnam green industry international cooperation and exchange session in Beijing on Monday. Vietnamese Ambassador to China Pham Thanh Binh said the Vietnamese Embassy in China will continue to play a bridging role, working closely with institutions, businesses, and partners from both countries to promote concrete, efficient, and mutually beneficial green cooperation projects and programs.

In his speech, Ambassador Pham said the world is facing severe environmental challenges, including climate change, resource depletion, air and water pollution, and energy security. 

"These challenges warn us that green development is no longer just a trend, but has become an essential path and an urgent task for all countries to achieve sustainable development," he said. 

The event aims to enhance policy exchanges, share experiences, and promote substantive cooperation between the two neighboring countries.

The ambassador said that Vietnam highly appreciates China's tremendous achievements, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, in environmental protection and comprehensive green development. 

China has made remarkable progress in developing renewable energy, restoring ecosystems, and controlling environmental pollution, he said. 

Vietnam believes that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), China will achieve more breakthroughs in ecological civilization, development of a Beautiful China, high-quality development, and high-level ecological and environmental protection, providing the world with China's green development solutions, Pham added. 

He then said the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and State have identified green and sustainable development as a consistent strategic direction. The 14th National Congress of the CPV elevated environmental policy to the same level as economic and social policy, opening up new policy space for the 2026-30 period, considering green development as a "lever" for restructuring the growth model, which is linked to the quality of growth and national competitiveness.

Pham said that both Vietnam and China are developing countries undergoing rapid industrialization and urbanization. Both are facing numerous environmental challenges, and therefore have broad prospects for cooperation in green industries.

In Pham's outlook, the two countries will fully implement the contents of the joint statement issued by the leaders of the two countries, and strengthen practical cooperation in the areas including pollution control, renewable energy, smart grids, cross-border ecological protection and green industrial parks. Meanwhile, both countries also need to enhance coordination and cooperation at multilateral occasions such as COP (Conference of the Parties) and the Mekong-Lancang River dialogues.

"Vietnam welcomes more Chinese companies with high-tech, environmentally friendly, and green development experience to make long-term investments and cooperate in Vietnam, especially in areas such as air pollution control, green smart city infrastructure, green transportation, and sustainable agriculture," said the ambassador. 

Wu Hongliang, director general of the International Cooperation Center of the NDRC, said at the session that China-Vietnam cooperation in green development has a solid foundation and broad prospects. Based on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between China and Vietnam to deepen cooperation in the green industry, clean technologies and sustainable development, the NDRC is facilitating the implementation. It is expected that the event will elevate China-Vietnam cooperation in green industries to a new level and contribute more green strength to building the China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, Wu said. 

Wu suggested to implement the MOU through strengthening the alignment of policies and promote the joint development of green standards; deepening practical cooperation in green manufacturing, clean energy, and the circular economy; and improving the long-term technical and talent support mechanism.

The International Cooperation Center of the NDRC will continue to build an exchange platform for green industry cooperation between China and Vietnam, promote policy communication, industrial alignment and experience sharing, and drive more cooperation intentions to be transformed into tactical results, injecting green momentum into the high-quality economic and social development of both countries and the development of bilateral relations, said Wu.