Potential for cooperation in forecasting technology between China and Vietnam

The meeting was part of a series of activities by the Chinese delegation in Vietnam from March 23 to 25.

VMHA Director Nguyen Thuong Hien extended a cordial greeting to Minister Li Guoying and his delegation during the session, expressing gratitude for their attendance and collaborative efforts.  Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and China's Ministry of Water Resources have maintained a longstanding tradition of cooperation within the framework of their long-standing cooperation.  Back to the prior merge of the Ministries, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the two ministries had signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), working together on joint plans and implementing cooperative activities.

Vietnam and China have consistently exchanged hydrological data for transboundary rivers during flood seasons as a result of this partnership.  Consequently, the quality of flood forecasting and early warning has been substantially enhanced, and flood prevention measures have been more effectively prepared.  Director Nguyen Thuong Hien expressed his gratitude to the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources for promptly providing information regarding China's flood discharge during Typhoon Yagi in September 2024. This information was instrumental in reducing the impact of this historic flood.

Director Hien has suggested that both parties continue to enhance the quality of hydrological forecasting and expand their cooperation in information sharing, particularly in response to hazardous weather events such as heavy rainfall, cyclones, and floods.  He also proposed the investigation of collaborations in the fields of flood forecasting and warning technologies and observation technologies.

Vietnam will progressively modernize and synchronize its monitoring network to achieve the level of advanced countries in Asia and the world, with a vision of 2050, in accordance with the National Plan for the Meteorological and Hydrological Station Network for the 2021–2030 period.  The strategy emphasizes the following objectives: the development, advancement, technology, and enhancement of observation systems, the increase in station density, the upgrading of information infrastructure and databases to a centralized and modern model, and the enhancement of the application of artificial intelligence in the management, inspection, supervision, sharing, and utilization of meteorological and hydrological monitoring data.

By 2030, Vietnam will automate over 95% of its meteorological stations, water level stations, rainfall gauges, and upper-air wind measurement stations, as well as at least 40% of its flow measurement stations.  Additionally, the hydrometeorological sector is in the process of modernizing and updating laboratories, calibration and verification systems for meteorological and hydrological instruments, and digitizing information systems and databases.

"The Vietnam Meteorological and Hydrological sector is striving to meet these goals despite many challenges.  New directions in technological cooperation will help the KTTV agency enhance its forecasting and warning capacity," shared Director Nguyen Thuong Hien.

During the meeting, Minister Li Guoying stated that the two agencies have a positive cooperative relationship and that China will persist in the exchange of hydrological information, particularly during extreme weather events like floods and storms.

Minister Li also expressed deep concern about the frequent occurrence of dangerous natural disasters in Vietnam, as well as the country’s topographical and climatic features that result in highly localized weather patterns.  The Vietnamese Meteorological and Hydrological Administration's experts and the Chinese delegation engaged in a discussion regarding Vietnam's monitoring network, current observation technologies, storm forecasting procedures, and hydrological forecasting models.

Mr. Mai Van Khiem, Director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, has stated that Vietnam and other member countries utilize observational data in conjunction under the data-sharing agreement of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).  This has been of significant assistance to Vietnam, as its monitoring technology capabilities remain restricted.

Forecasters must consult a variety of analytical models and instruments, as well as forecasts from neighboring countries, in the event of a disaster.  For example, the National Forecasting Center of Vietnam conducts online consultations with its counterparts at the China Meteorological Administration during storms.

Minister Li Guoying hailed the Meteorological and Hydrological Administration of Vietnam for its work, noting that China has made significant strides in the field of weather-related technology, with a particular emphasis on the monitoring of rainfall and storms, hydrological observation, and weather radar.  Forecasting technology may emerge as a focal point in the Vietnam-China relationship in the near future, as the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources places a high priority on bilateral cooperation.

The Vietnam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration intends to establish hydrological instruments on the Ky Cung and Bac Vong Rivers in order to execute the Memorandum of Understanding on the exchange of hydrological information during the flood season between Vietnam and China. Additionally, China intends to reconstruct stations located upstream on the Panlong River (also known as the Vietnamese Lo River), Nanli River (also known as the Thao River in Vietnam), and Louque River (also known as the Chay River in Vietnam).  In order to guarantee safety in the frontier regions between the two nations, the Vietnamese agency has suggested the exchange of early data for these river basins.