At the fourth annual conference on economic cooperation for Yunnan, Lao Cai, Hanoi, Hai Phong and Quang Ninh, taking place in Quang Ninh on Nov. 19-20, they agreed to enhance mutual assistance, particularly between provinces that have many things in common.

This alliance between the five localities along the economic corridor has helped them to accelerate socio-economic development in the area and to cope with the effects of the global economic crisis.

Over the past year, Yunnan-based investors have poured US$11.6 million into four projects in Vietnam, and the number of Chinese tourists using tourist visas to Vietnam has been steadily increasing, with more than 19,000 arrivals in the first seven months of 2008, representing a 7.5 percent year-on-year increase.