The statement was made by Guo Chuan Wei, Director in charge of trade and investment at the ASEAN-China Center (ACC) at the Vietnam-China Trade Forum held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Ho Chi Minh City chapter, the ACC, and the Department of Commerce of China’s Jilin province on August 2.
Guo said that China is an economy with strong production capacity, and its enterprises are constantly expanding their presence abroad. Meanwhile, Vietnam has an impressive economic growth in Southeast Asia. In addition, the two countries hold a lot of advantages complementary to each other and have geological positions favorable to trade exchange.
They are the reasons why Chinese firms want to expand cooperation with Vietnam, he added.
Secretary of Jilin’s provincial Party Committee Ba Yin Chao Lu told participants that Chinese firms in general and those in Jilin in particular have been expanding trade and investment activities in Vietnam, with attention paid to potential areas of automobile manufacturing and assembly, and farm produce import and export.
He said Jilin will encourage its big companies to do business in Vietnam while inviting Vietnamese firms to invest in the province.
VCCI Deputy Chairman Vo Tan Thanh highlighted the fact that China is currently one of the largest and potential markets of Vietnam.
Last year, two-way trade exceeded USD 93.6 billion, accounting for 22 percent of Vietnam’s total foreign trade. The bilateral trade value reached USD 38.7 billion in the first five months of 2018 and is likely to surpass USD 100 billion for the first time this year.
As of April, China ranked seventh out of 126 nations and territories investing in Vietnam with nearly 1,900 projects worth over USD 12.5 billion.
Seen from the local aspect, Nguyen Huynh Trang, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Industry and Trade, said that as of July, China ranked 19th among 98 nations and territories pouring capital into the city with 126 projects and total investment capital of nearly USD 158 million. The city’s exports to and imports from China both recorded a year-on-year rise of 15 percent in the first half of this year.
According to Trang, there remains a lot of potential for cooperation between the city and Chinese localities, including Jilin.
Intensifying exchanges between businesses, and trade and investment promotion will create good opportunities for the two sides’ enterprises to establish long-term and effective cooperation, she added.
Source: VNA