On 15 March 2013, Secretary-General Ma Mingqiang paid an official call on Nguyen Tien Minh, Director-General of the ASEAN Department of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry on the sidelines of the ASEAN Education Ministers Meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Secretary-General Ma Mingqiang briefed Director-General Nguyen Tien Minh about the work done by the ASEAN-China Center for the promotion of practical cooperation between China and ASEAN in trade, investment, education, culture and tourism, giving special mention to activities, such as the sales centre of ASEAN goods in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, provision of scholarships by the private sector to Vietnamese students in China, activities for ASEAN students in China and promotion of tourism for ASEAN countries. Secretary-General Ma Mingqiang thanked the Vietnamese government and the Vietnamese Embassy in Beijing for their vigorous support and pledged for further cooperation with Vietnam so as to carry forward practical cooperation between China and Vietnam in trade, investment, education, culture and tourism.

Director-General Nguyen Tien Minh said that young as ASEAN-China Centre was, it had hosted a lot of activities that were conducive to ASEAN-China cooperation and Vietnam-China relations. The Vietnamese government appreciated ACC’s work and would continue to support it by facilitating Chinese businesses’ investment in as well as Chinese tourists’ trip to Vietnam. The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry would also coordinate with other relevant ministries to help Vietnamese enterprises find their way to the sales centre of ASEAN goods in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province.