The Hon Danny Pearson MP – travel report – Vietnam and China, 9 to 15 November 2025

*The above costs are not final and complete

Purpose of travel

The program in Vietnam and China included strategic engagement with government officials in Ho Chi Minh City and Shanghai. In addition, key investment related meetings were undertaken in both locations to promote Victoria as a trusted destination for high-quality, long-term investment and to boost investor confidence and retention. There were also a range of international education engagements to showcase Victoria’s high-quality education offering and demonstrate its commitment to international students.

The travel undertaken also supported a delegation of 29 Victorian food and beverage exporters participating in Food and Hospitality China (FHC), a major annual trade show. The Victorian Government showcased its commitment to export growth by hosting a dedicated pavilion at the event. For many exporters, participation provided a critical opportunity to diversify and reconnect with China as the state’s largest export market.

Benefits of travel to the State of Victoria

Vietnam

Victoria and Vietnam share a long-standing relationship covering trade, investment, research collaboration and education as well as strong people-to-people and cultural ties. Vietnam is Victoria’s 9th largest two-way merchandise trading partner and 11th largest export market. It is also the 3rd largest source of international student enrolments.

The benefits of travel to Vietnam included:

Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)

• Meeting with the Chairman of HCMC People’s Committee to discuss the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Victoria and HCMC and priorities in the relationship going forward. Both parties reaffirmed the commitment to renewing the MoU and to build on the success of the MoU signed between Victoria and HCMC in 2022.
• Undertaking a site visit to HCMC and Monash University Joint Research and Training Hub at the Urban Traffic Management Centre to celebrate a research partnership between Victoria and HCMC based on ongoing collaboration that transfers knowledge and best practice from Victoria in transport management.
• Hosting a business roundtable with Victorian businesses in Vietnam to reaffirm the Victorian Government’s commitment to supporting Victorian businesses and fostering strong economic ties between Victoria and Vietnam. The discussion provided firsthand insight on the opportunities and realities of doing business in Vietnam.
• Meeting with Kim Duc to support their existing investment in Victoria and progress their next phase of investment into a recycling facility in the state.
• Meeting with Nutifood Vietnam and ViPlus Dairy to discuss their joint venture partnership and the significant export opportunity in Southeast Asia for dairy products from Gippsland. This meeting also presented an opportunity to celebrate the launch of their ‘GippsNature’ products in Vietnam.
• Meeting with Australia’s Consul-General in HCMC and Austrade’s Senior Trade Commissioner to receive a briefing on the diplomatic and commercial relationship between Australia and Vietnam including key opportunities.
• Hosting and speaking at a Victorian Alumni and Business event to celebrate the people-to-people links between Victoria and Vietnam and to demonstrate support to a strong and vibrant Alumni network, many of which are decision-makers and influencers in their respective fields as well as strong advocates for the Australia- Victoria relationship with Vietnam.
• Visiting Swinburne-FPT University to reaffirm the Victorian Government’s commitment to growing transnational education and acknowledging a well-established and successful partnership between Swinburne University of Technology and their Vietnamese partner, FPT University. The visit included the opportunity to launch a new MBA program in HCMC.

China

China is Victoria’s largest trade partner, with two-way merchandise trade rebounding to surpass pre-pandemic levels. Since 2018-19, Victoria has seen significant growth in exports of wheat, barley and beef. China is the single largest goods destination market particularly in the food, beverage and fibre space. In 2024, China was Victoria’s largest source of international overnight visitors and second largest source of international student enrolments. China is a significant source market of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Victoria.

The benefits of travel to China included:

Shanghai

• Attending and officially opening the Victorian Pavilion at FHC and engaging with the 29 participating Victorian businesses. This included witnessing Victorian business MoU signings and celebrating Victorian lamb exports to China.
• Meeting with ChemLex to visit their AI, robot-driven lab in Shanghai to promote potential expansion into Australia.
• Visiting Focus Media’s headquarters to meet with the Founder and Chairman to discuss the establishment of Focus Media’s Australian headquarters in Melbourne for digital advertising services.
• Hosting an Investment Roundtable with the Zhejiang Jiaxing Chamber of Commerce, showcasing Victoria as a premier destination for Chinese FDI to a select group of leading entrepreneurs. Several potential opportunities have arisen from the roundtable, including investment leads in biotechnology, hospitality, food and beverages, and consumer goods.
• Hosting and speaking at a Friends of Victoria Reception to promote opportunities for trade, investment and education collaboration between Victoria and China, including a pull aside meeting with China Eastern Airlines.
• Following the release of the refreshed Victorian Wine Strategy, hosting the Victorian Wine Showcase at Vic House (Victoria’s premium showroom and event space in China) to elevate the profile of Victoria’s wine regions and connect 15 wineries with more than 100 buyers and key opinion leaders.
• Hosting a Business Insights Roundtable to hear directly from business leaders in Shanghai about the current operating environment for foreign enterprises and to identify practical opportunities for Victorian businesses, particularly in innovation, technology, trade and investment.
• Meeting with the Deputy Secretary General of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government (who also holds the position as Director General of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce) to explore opportunities to further expand Victoria’s trade and investment links and government-to-government collaboration with Shanghai.

Hangzhou

• Undertaking a site visit and meeting with Alibaba to learn about Alibaba Group’s core business areas in digital commerce, AI and cloud technology, and discuss opportunities for Alibaba to bring these capabilities to Australia by expanding their presence in Melbourne, to further strengthen Victoria and China’s trade and investment ties.
• Meeting with Hangzhou Electronic Soul Network Technology (E-Soul) to learn about their capabilities in game development and e-sports and discuss E-Soul's expansion to Australia by setting up a presence in Melbourne.

Next steps/Follow up

Please note, some of the next steps/follow up actions are commercial-in-confidence and as such the specifics cannot be disclosed publicly.

Vietnam

• Following on from the HCMC Chairman meeting, undertake follow up discussions with the HCMC Department of Foreign Affairs to finalise the renewal of the Victoria-HCMC.
• Deliver a virtual dialogue/conference between HCMC and Victorian universities to drive forward partnerships, in cooperation with HCMC Department of Foreign Affairs.
• Facilitate with HCMC’s Department of Construction and their partners at Monash University’s Engineering School, an introduction to Port of Melbourne, to share experience on port transaction structure, consumer protection measures, regulatory frameworks and attracting private sector investment.
• Work with Invest Victoria to support Kim Duc with connections to potential partners; and assist with permit processes where relevant.
• Engage with Invest Victoria and Regional Development Victoria to arrange follow up discussions regarding labour challenges in the region with the Chief Executive Officer of ViPlus Dairy.

China

• Explore further collaboration opportunities with Victorian companies operating in Shanghai to continue to support their growth in China.
• Support businesses that participated in the FHC trade show to capture commercial outcomes, which will be informed by post mission evaluations.
• Support wineries that participated in the Victorian Wine Showcase to capture commercial outcomes, which will be informed by evaluations.
• Continue to work closely with China Eastern to support more two-way travel between Melbourne and Shanghai.
• Support and host inbound visits and delegations to Melbourne and Victoria resulting from the trip.
• Work with Invest Victoria to realise inbound investment opportunities from Focus Media, ChemLex, E-Soul and companies that attended the Investment Roundtable.
• Consider key insights from the visit to Alibaba and explore opportunities to further trade outcomes for Victorian businesses through ecommerce.
• Continue to engage with the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government and Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce to advance trade and investment links between Victoria and Shanghai. Proposed areas for discussion include leveraging trade shows as platforms to promote economic and trade cooperation, attracting industrial investment, and fostering collaboration in education and technological innovation.