Hanoi has sparked a multi-level economic and trade docking boom in a single day, with Vietnam's three core departments meeting with Chinese financial officials to refine cross-border railway financing plans, finalize construction models, and accelerate the implementation of major connectivity projects.

High level centralized meeting

On August 27, 2026, CEXIM Chairman Chen Huaiyu visited Vietnam and held three special talks with Vietnamese Executive Vice Prime Minister Pham Gia Zu, Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Minh Hui, and Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi, focusing on promoting cooperation on the Lao Cai Hanoi Coastal Defense Railway project. The Vietnamese side highly recognizes the achievements of China's long-term assistance in Vietnam's infrastructure construction and hopes to continue deepening investment and financing cooperation, relying on Chinese resources to empower the upgrading of local transportation networks.

Confirm the construction mode

The meeting clarified a new project construction plan, and the Vietnamese side abandoned the general contracting mode of the entire line, adopting multi section and segmented construction, and forming a Sino Vietnamese joint venture to effectively enhance the participation of local Vietnamese enterprises and the independent ability of railway operation and maintenance. At present, Vietnam is advancing preliminary work such as technology selection and funding calculation. China promises to accelerate loan evaluation and approval, select high-quality enterprises to participate in project construction, and make every effort to build benchmark projects for bilateral infrastructure cooperation. Keywords: infrastructure financing, bilateral cooperation

Refine financing plan

According to official disclosure, the total investment of the cross-border railway project is 10.8 billion US dollars, with Vietnam raising 4.3 billion US dollars and included in the 2026-2030 mid-term public investment plan. The remaining 6.5 billion US dollars are planned to be resolved through loans. The Chinese side has innovatively proposed a combination loan model, planned to form a domestic bank consortium to provide financing support, actively explored multiple financing channels such as RMB financing and overseas RMB bond issuance, and effectively adapted to the needs of project construction. This intensive docking marks the official entry of the project into the substantive landing preparation stage.Editor/Min Jing