Industry and Trade Newspaper: 80 years of proud history

The 80-year journey of establishment and development of the Industry and Trade Newspaper - the mouthpiece of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the forum of the Vietnamese industry and trade community - is not only a valuable spiritual asset but also a source of pride and a strong driving force for development.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien presented the decision to recognize the Traditional Day of October 2, 1945 to the leaders of the Industry and Trade Newspaper.

October 2, 1945 - A memorable milestone

For each media agency, the date of birth or the traditional date always has a sacred and important meaning. It is not just a birthday but also has the meaning of positioning in the flow of press history, positioning the development direction for the future.

On the basis of the archival documents known so far, combining the work of historical and witness comparison, conclusions from scientific seminars as well as based on current regulations of the State, with the spirit of gratitude to the past and high responsibility for the development process of the newspaper, the Editorial Board of the Industry and Trade Newspaper has submitted to the leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade to propose the Party Committee and the leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade to issue a decision to recognize: "October 2, 1945 - the day the first Minister of the Ministry of National Economy Nguyen Manh Ha signed Decree No. 08-BKT/VP on the reorganization of the Ministry of National Economy to achieve the goal of improving the national economy; in which, Section 3, Article 4 of the Decree clearly states the establishment of Department 3 - Department of Economic Magazine with the task of publishing Vietnam Economic Magazine - as "Traditional Day of Industry and Trade Newspaper".

Decree 08-BKT/VP was signed by Minister of National Economy Nguyen Manh Ha, in which Article 4 stipulates that there are three departments: Department of Journal Economics, responsible for publishing Vietnam Journal Economics.

On June 18, 2024, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien signed Decision No. 1599/QD-BCT on recognizing October 2 as the Traditional Day of Industry and Trade Newspaper. This event, along with the establishment of Industry and Trade Newspaper, is a strong affirmation that President Ho Chi Minh and the Provisional Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam paid great attention to the industry and trade sector and the information and propaganda work of the industry and trade sector. Choosing October 2, 1945 as the Traditional Day of Industry and Trade Newspaper is both consistent with historical reality and proves that the newspaper has a long tradition, being one of the earliest press agencies of ministries and branches.

This is also a memorable milestone in the history of Vietnamese revolutionary journalism in general and economic journalism in particular.

Cover of Economic Front News No. 2 published in December 1948.

From the Economic Front to the Industry and Trade Newspaper: Commitment and companionship

On March 2, 1946, the Resistance Coalition Government changed the name of the Ministry of National Economy to the Ministry of Economy and on May 14, 1951, President Ho Chi Minh signed Decree No. 21/SL changing the name of the Ministry of Economy to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. These are also important milestones marking the stable and continuous development of the press agencies that were the predecessors of the Industry and Trade Newspaper.

Propaganda work has always been of great concern to the Ministry of Economy, the predecessor of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Economic Front News, one of the predecessors of the Industry and Trade Newspaper, published its first two issues at the end of 1948 in the Viet Bac war zone, marking a milestone and the glorious tradition of the Industry and Trade Newspaper, one of the earliest newspapers compared to newspapers of other ministries and branches.

Economic Front Newspaper No. 11 published in May 1950, the issue commemorating President Ho's birthday.

It is easy to understand why at that time, the predecessor of Cong Thuong Newspaper had a meaningful name, evoking the battlefield, the silent war with the whole country during the long resistance and nation building: "Economic Front".

It can be seen that, in the context of the Viet Bac war zone lacking in many aspects, the "Economic Front" newspaper and then the Industry and Trade Journal, from the beginning, clearly demonstrated their ideological and fighting spirit with many articles of political nature, sharp analysis, and specific and clear information about the political, economic and social situation of the country.

These are still the original values ​​of the revolutionary press in the context of the country then and now.

Peace and national construction in the new context is also when the organizational structure of the industry and trade sector, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is built to suit the reality. The new fields of the industry and trade sector developing deeper and wider are also opportunities for new publications in the role of the mouthpiece to be formed and developed, continuing to affirm the new image of the industrialists and traders, the industry and trade sector in the new economic fields of the country such as: industry, commerce, foreign trade, materials, energy, mines, oil and gas.

To meet the requirements of new tasks, in September 1955, the Ministry of Industry and Trade was separated into the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Industry. Accordingly, the Industry and Trade Journal was also transformed into the Commerce Newspaper. In the early years of the 70s of the 20th century, the Foreign Trade Newspaper (later the Foreign Economic Affairs Newspaper), and the Materials Newspaper of the two Ministries of Foreign Trade and Materials were also established.

In mid-1990, the Ministries of Domestic Trade, Foreign Economic Relations, and Materials merged into the Ministry of Commerce (later the Ministry of Trade) and in July 1990, the three industry newspapers were also merged and renamed the Trade Newspaper. In mid-1996, the Vietnam Industry Newspaper - an agency of the Ministry of Industry - was born.

After the merger of the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Industry into the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the two newspapers were also merged into the Industry and Trade Newspaper. Immediately after that, the Industry and Trade Newspaper was officially published. News and articles on solutions to stabilize the macro economy, topics on industrialization and modernization of the country, improving competitiveness and international economic integration, and all aspects of the bustling activities of the domestic and foreign markets... are still the main content of each issue of the Industry and Trade Newspaper.

It can be seen that the common denominator of all publications in that 60-year period, through the multi-dimensional, complex and many ups and downs of the country's economic history, those economic history pages always shine on every printed page, every article, every picture of the newspapers that have converged into the Industry and Trade Newspaper. Besides the noble awards of the Party and State in recognition of the efforts of the Industry and Trade Newspaper, another great and meaningful award is the reception of readers nationwide.

The period from 1948 to 2008 shaped the Industry and Trade Newspaper as a sharp economic press agency of the country's key economic ministries and became an official newspaper of a multi-sector economic ministry accounting for 70% of the country's GDP.

That was the time of dedication of the pioneers of the press agencies who built the common roof of the Industry and Trade Newspaper. It was the crystallization of the efforts and intelligence of many generations of cadres, reporters, and editors who always lived, worked, and devoted themselves with the spirit of igniting fire with the country, marching with the nation, keeping up with the times.

Workshop on traditional day of Industry and Trade Newspaper.

Strong innovation with the country

In addition to the main publication, after the merger, Cong Thuong Newspaper continued to maintain and effectively publish specialized publications and became one of the newspapers with many specialized topics and special issues, such as: Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas Special Issue; Family Kitchen Special Issue; Capital & Investment Special Issue; Industry & Trade Information Special Issue... In particular, the Buy and Sell supplement with hundreds of thousands of copies per issue has become a unique phenomenon in Vietnamese press publishing.

Sensitive to the new, to the development and transformation of technology as well as the demands of readers, in 2013, the electronic Industry and Trade Newspaper was born with the domain name www. congthuong.vn. It can be said that the propaganda front of the industry and trade sector together with the printed newspaper and electronic Industry and Trade Newspaper has marked a new and meaningful development step.

Generations of leaders of Industry and Trade Newspaper and delegates visit the traditional room of Industry and Trade Newspaper.

The 13th National Party Congress has set out major goals for the country with extremely important decisions. The role and position of the industry and trade sector has been emphasized with higher requirements, and the expectations of the Party, the State and the people for the industry and trade sector have also increased.

These realities require that information and propaganda work on publications of the Industry and Trade Newspaper must also be innovated more strongly and drastically.

Minister of Industry and Trade inspects the production of industrial goods for export.

In his role as commander of the industry and trade sector, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien has always paid special attention to the development of the industry's press agencies, especially the Industry and Trade Newspaper. The Minister, together with the Ministry's leadership and the leaders of the functional units under the Ministry, have directly worked twice with the leadership and reporters of the newspaper. Notably, at the working session in early 2022, the Minister of Industry and Trade directly listened to the report on the draft outline of the project to renovate the electronic Industry and Trade Newspaper; and to strengthen new staff for the Editorial Board.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum witnessed Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and UAE Minister of State for Economy Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi hand over the CEPA Agreement document.

In 2022, the collective of the Industry and Trade Newspaper has made continuous efforts in the spirit of both building and implementing the contents of the newspaper innovation project. From an organizational perspective, departments and divisions have been streamlined to be more suitable for implementing political and professional tasks; the journalism style has been strongly innovated, in a more proactive, responsive and decisive direction. Important directive messages from the Minister and leaders of the Ministry have been promptly expressed, helping people and businesses clearly understand the role and responsibilities of the industry and trade sector, creating a basis for consensus with the Ministry's management policies.

The drastic innovation of the Editorial Board of Industry and Trade Newspaper in promoting content development, enhancing the orientation and combativeness of the newspaper has brought about positive and outstanding results.

With printed newspapers, in addition to improving the quality of news articles, with many in-depth, long-term articles, from January 1, 2023, the newspaper has increased to 3 issues/week along with changing the format and design to bring readers faster and more attractive information. Cong Thuong Newspaper is also the ministry newspaper with the most publications, including: Vietnam Economic News; Industrial Promotion, Supporting Industry, Annual Import-Export Report, Trade Promotion Overview...

Editor-in-Chief of Industry and Trade Newspaper Nguyen Van Minh and reporters and editors at Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School (Thai Nguyen).

Efforts to pioneer digital transformation

Over the past 80 years, the Industry and Trade Newspaper has grown steadily, from a modest publication to a multi-format, multi-platform press agency, with print, electronic and digital media, serving millions of readers at home and abroad. The newspaper has truly become a trusted forum for the industry and trade sector, a bridge to bring the policies of the Party, the State and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to the business community and the people; at the same time, promptly reflecting the breath of life, the aspirations of the grassroots to the leaders.

In particular, recently, the efforts to comprehensively innovate both the content and form of communication of the Newspaper have contributed to affirming the position and brand of the Industry and Trade Newspaper in the trend of digital transformation and multimedia communication. The Electronic Industry and Trade Newspaper, from being ranked only 626th, by December 2023, the Newspaper rose to the top 54, and is currently ranked 24th among the newspapers and electronic news sites with the highest number of viewers in Vietnam.

Currently, the Industry and Trade Newspaper has been establishing and building a series of new Youtube, Tiktok and Fanpage channels with the goal of building a strong digital ecosystem, ranking among the top of the Ministry and industry newspapers, contributing to spreading more strongly the image and position of the country, people of Vietnam in general and the industry and trade sector in particular in the process of economic and international integration.

Team of editors and technicians performing work at the studio of Industry and Trade Newspaper.

In addition, the Newspaper has organized events, seminars, and policy communication workshops related to hot, practical topics, contributing significantly to orienting public opinion and creating public consensus with the Party and State's policies and guidelines.

The digital transformation of the Industry and Trade Newspaper is not only about the number of products or visits. More importantly, it is the transformation in the thinking of journalism, from mechanical to digital, from reflection to forecasting, from serving readers to interacting with the community. The Digital Newsroom model of the Industry and Trade Newspaper is truly a creation based on the characteristics of the industry, human potential, and information needs in the new era.

Industry and Trade Newspaper reporters working at events.

Positive reviews and comments about Industry and Trade Newspaper

It can be said that, in the flow of 80 years of history, regardless of its presence under any manchette, regardless of being the press agency of the predecessor ministries of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, regardless of the resistance war, the construction of socialism in the North and the whole country in peace, the current period of innovation and integration, the Industry and Trade Newspaper has always been persistent in its propaganda orientation, and on the other hand, always closely associated with economic activities, especially activities related to business activities and people's lives.

This not only affirms the legitimacy of an economic newspaper, but also creates the identity and appeal of the Industry and Trade Newspaper as well as the trust of leaders at all levels and a large number of readers.

The achievements of the Industry and Trade Newspaper over 80 years of establishment and development have been recognized by noble awards from the Party and State: Third-class Labor Medal - Vietnam Industry Newspaper (2002); First-class Labor Medal - Trade Newspaper (2005); Second-class Labor Medal - Vietnam Industry Newspaper (2008); Third-class Independence Medal - Industry and Trade Newspaper (2011).

As the highest leader of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien always pays special attention to building the Industry and Trade Newspaper to develop in all aspects, meeting the communication and information needs of the Ministry in the new situation. According to the Minister, the Industry and Trade Newspaper has developed and become a newspaper with strength and prestige in the industry and trade sector and the whole country. The newspaper as well as the media agencies of the Ministry have many innovations and reforms suitable to specific conditions and clear innovations in both content and form.

“The Cong Thuong Newspaper has risen to the top 24 newspapers with the highest number of visitors in the country. In the coming time, the Newspaper must strive to surpass even more, even in some areas within its scope, it must be the leader, not the follower,” the Minister pointed out.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien also directed that the Ministry's press and media agencies must do, must lead, must orientate issues related to industry and trade, and if there is incorrect information, they must be responsible for fighting to clarify it. It is necessary to be more responsive and timely in providing information, orienting public opinion and leading public opinion with the spirit of "taking the good, eliminating the bad". The motto is to go first, lead the way, go together to propagate, explain and go behind to summarize and replicate.

Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan, Head of the Central Propaganda Department Nguyen Trong Nghia, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung, and Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association Le Quoc Minh visited the booth of Cong Thuong Newspaper at the 2023 National Press Festival.

Comrade Le Quoc Minh, member of the Party Central Committee, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission, President of the Vietnam Journalists Association, commented that he was very impressed with the growth of the online Industry and Trade Newspaper, in a relatively short time, but with the efforts to innovate, the number of visitors and followers on the online platform of the Industry and Trade Newspaper has increased significantly.

Besides closely following the issues of the industry and trade sector and creating a difference from other newspapers through its own strengths, the Industry and Trade Newspaper has also participated in many other information and propaganda activities according to the direction of the Party and the State to help spread official content to many audiences.

General Secretary To Lam congratulated and encouraged journalists in the industry and trade sector at the 2025 National Press Conference.

Journalist Pham Van Huan, former Editor-in-Chief of the People's Army Newspaper, said that the Industry and Trade Newspaper is a press agency with a very admirable tradition. As a convergence of many press agencies, the Industry and Trade Newspaper has increasingly improved and improved in quality.

Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Hoai Son, Standing Member of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education, noted that throughout its long development, the Industry and Trade Newspaper has played an important role as an information channel for the country's economic and industrial development. Each news item in the newspaper not only reflects economic policies, achievements, and challenges, but also demonstrates the determination, creativity, and aspirations of an entire nation.

In addition, the role of the Industry and Trade Newspaper in the industry and trade sector is not only in providing information, but also in its mission to contribute to the formation of long-term economic development strategies. The newspaper has become a strong voice of businesses, managers, and people - those who are joining hands to bring the Vietnamese economy to the world. In the integration period, when the country enters the global playing field, the newspaper still firmly maintains its mission, becoming a flame that inspires innovation, creativity and sustainability.

The efforts to build and affirm the brand position of a newspaper, and the efforts to constantly innovate to keep up with modern journalism trends of Cong Thuong Newspaper are also highly appreciated by economic experts, managers and businesses.

Lawyer Le Anh Van, member of the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, assessed that the Industry and Trade Newspaper has risen from position 620 to enter the Top 30 electronic newspapers with the largest number of readers in Vietnam, ranked 24th in August 2024, which is a testament to the outstanding efforts, comprehensive innovation and strong determination in building a modern, multimedia press agency. This is a very worthy result for the determination and innovation strategy of the leaders of the Industry and Trade Newspaper.

“From this innovation, the Newspaper has increasingly affirmed its position as a leading economic newspaper as well as kept up with the development trend of modern journalism,” said lawyer Le Anh Van.

Economic expert, Associate Professor, Dr. Ngo Tri Long said that thanks to its in-depth and reliable content, Cong Thuong Newspaper is truly a useful source of information for businesses, investors and those interested in this field.

According to him, the depth of content of the Industry and Trade Newspaper is also demonstrated through articles interviewing experts in many fields, thereby providing a multi-dimensional view of "hot" issues. In addition, a team of experts regularly collaborates to write articles for the Newspaper. This not only helps improve the quality of content, creating richness for the Newspaper's columns, but also demonstrates the trust of experts in the Newspaper.

Sharing the same point of view with expert Ngo Tri Long, economic expert, Dr. Vo Tri Thanh said that the Industry and Trade Newspaper is a very special newspaper. The newspaper has accompanied the entire revolutionary process, and later the nearly 40-year renovation and reform process of Vietnam. This special thing is not only reflected in the story of awareness but also in the historical mark in Uncle Ho's letter to the industrial and commercial community; in which, Uncle Ho emphasized the two words "Industry and Commerce". Or before that, our ancestors also had a saying "Without Industry, there is no wealth, without Commerce, there is no activity" which clearly shows the role of the industry.

“The Industry and Trade Newspaper is a very dynamic newspaper, accepting risks, always adapting and innovating to make the role and meaning of the media better and more practical,” said Dr. Vo Tri Thanh.

Mr. Tran Tuan Hiep, Director of Tri Duc Technology Development and Trading Company Limited, commented that Cong Thuong Newspaper is one of the prestigious newspapers in the economic field with many in-depth contents on import and export, trade, integration, finance and banking, enterprises, etc. Cong Thuong Newspaper is also a useful information channel for the domestic and foreign business community to refer to.

It can be said that the instructions of Minister Nguyen Hong Dien and the positive assessments of experts, managers and businesses are not only assignments but also recognition and encouragement for the innovation efforts of the Industry and Trade Newspaper, and at the same time, expectations for the coming journey, continuing the proud 80-year history of the Newspaper.

The Congress of the Party Committee of the Industry and Trade Newspaper for the 2025-2030 term determined: Strengthening the leadership of the Party, continuing to thoroughly grasp and concretize the guidelines, policies and strategies of the Party, the State and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, concretizing the Project to renovate the Industry and Trade Newspaper for the period 2023-2025 and the following years, making the Industry and Trade Newspaper a leading economic newspaper, attractive in content, innovative in form, diverse in platform, leading information on the industry sector, in-depth, sharp in orienting strategic economic issues, solid in journalism economics and constantly improving the lives of workers.

Make Cong Thuong Newspaper become one of the top 10 newspapers with the highest number of readers in Vietnam. Have an ecosystem of social media platforms with 3 to 5 main channels, generating revenue from digital platforms.

The Industry and Trade Newspaper continues to transform strongly in the direction of professionalism, convergence, and innovation, positioning itself not only as an economic newspaper but also as a multimedia communication platform with great influence on electronic platforms and social networks. Prioritizing the development of in-depth content, strategic criticism, and current economic commentary. Building a modern, convergent Industry and Trade Newspaper, following the digital Newsroom model combined with strong application of artificial intelligence. Continuing to improve living care, increasing average income by 10% per year.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/bao-cong-thuong-chang-duong-lich-su-80-nam-day-tu-hao-post911674.html