Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will attend China’s first International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai on November 4-5.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. (Photo: VNA)

PM Phuc’s attendance is made at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and China reached USD 93.6 billion in 2017, up 30 per cent year-on-year, and accounting for 22 per cent of Vietnam’s total import-export turnover. Of the total, USD 35.4 billion came from Vietnam’s exports.

Vietnam posted a trade deficit of USD 28 billion with China in 2016. The figure was down to USD 22.7 billion last year, a positive sign in improving the bilateral trade balance.

Bilateral trade is forecast to exceed USD 100 billion in 2018.

New details about the CIIE, the world's first import-themed national-level expo, were revealed by Vice Commerce Minister Fu Ziying at a Ministry of Commerce press conference in Beijing on Monday.

The 2018 China International Import Expo (CIIE) has received over 160,000 registration forms from more than 80,000 domestic and foreign companies.

The expo contains a forum and an exhibition, which is pided into one part for countries and another for companies.

According to Fu, a total of 82 countries and three international organizations will be showcasing their achievements in economic and trade development.

In addition, more than 3,000 companies from over 130 countries have confirmed participation in the expo, with a total booth area of 270,000 square metres.

Named Hongqiao International Economic and Trade Forum, the forum's theme is ‘spurring new vitality of global trade, creating an open and win-win scenario’. It will consist of three parallel sessions, with focus on trade and opening-up, trade and innovation, and trade and investment./.

VNF