Vietnam and China see huge potential for cooperation in economy, trade and investment, experts said at a trade exchange and seminar between the two countries held in Ho Chi Minh City on May 23.

The event was co-organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Ho Chi Minh City branch (VCCI HCM City) and the China Council for Promotion of International Trade.

VCCI HCM City Director Vo Tan Thanh said that Vietnam and China have good relations in numerous fields, especially in trade and investment. China is currently Vietnam’s biggest trade partner, while Vietnam is China’s largest trader in ASEAN.

At the seminar

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

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

Bilateral trade is forecast to exceed 100 billion USD this year, he stated.

In terms of investment, Chinese enterprises are intensifying investment in such fields as garments-textiles and mineral exploitation-processing in Vietnam. Last year, Chinese investors run 284 new projects and added capital to 83 existing projects in the Southeast Asian nation with a total capital of over 12 billion USD.

Wen Xi Chen, Economic Counselor at the Chinese Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, shared that China has huge demand for aquatic products like basa fish and shrimp and agricultural products such as pepper, cashew nut and dragon fruit.

With its open trade policy, China welcomes foreign businesses, including those from Vietnam, to bring into full play market opportunities to increase exports of high-value products to the country, he said, adding that Chinese firms want to seek cooperation opportunities in garment and textiles, seafood and farm produce processing for export.

The two countries can also boost collaboration in mineral exploitation and processing, finance and tourism, he added.

Meanwhile, Chinese experts advised Vietnamese enterprises to thoroughly learn about partners’ information and market demand through trade representative offices to avoid unreliable partners who can cause economic losses and affect the two countries’ relations./.

( VNF/VNA )