CHINA. At its 2026 China Duty Free Group Global Partners Meeting in Shanghai last week, the Chinese travel retail giant and its international development arm China Duty Free International (CDFI) held a series of discussions with international peers to discuss collaboration and the accelerated development of China Chic brands through the channel.
China Duty Free Group (CDFG) and CDFI held a closed-door meeting with Vietnam Duty Free Group (VDF) senior management to discuss in-depth travel retail cooperation in the travel retail sector.
In particular, they explored cooperation opportunities between Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi and Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, plus the development of the Vietnamese travel retail market and the ‘going global’ strategy of Chinese brands.
The parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for strategic cooperation, described as “a long-term and stable strategic partnership to jointly develop the Vietnamese travel retail market and achieve mutual empowerment and win-win results”.
Citing Vietnam News Agency (VNA), CDFG noted Vietnam’s tourism industry achieved breakthrough growth in 2025, receiving an all-time record of nearly 21.2 million international tourists, up +20.4% year-on-year.
The Vietnamese government is targeting 25 million international tourists this year, a figure projected to generate over VND1,100 trillion (US$42 billion) in tourism revenue.
CDFG noted that VDF, described as an emerging leader in Vietnam’s travel retail sector, is committed to injecting new vitality into the country’s retail industry, especially travel related.
VDF’s corporate development strategy is closely linked to the country’s GDP growth targets. In a mirroring of CDFG’s support of China Chic brands, VDF is committed to leveraging travel retail channels to showcase high-quality Vietnamese products and traditional crafts to the world
Building Changi Airport Group rapport
During the Shanghai conference, Chang Zhujun and Dou Xiaoqiong also received Changi Airport Group Executive Vice President Commercial Peck Hoon Lim and Changi Airport Group Managing Director (Airside Concessions) Hung Jean.
The parties discussed current trends and innovative cooperation models in airport retail as well as cooperation opportunities for China Chic products at Changi Airport.
Under the leadership of its parent company, China Tourism Group, CDFG pledged to uphold integrity in its operations, ensure the authenticity of its products, provide high-quality services and deepen collaboration with sector stakeholders.
The group underlined its ambitions to expand its global reach and robustly promote the internationalisation of Chinese-style trendy products
CDFG also promised to share development opportunities with global partners, jointly promote the upgrading of industry standards and build a new pattern of “open and win-win travel retail”. ✈
