China looks to boosts trade ties with countries in Southeast Asia (Photo: linkedin.com) Beijing (VNA) – A conference seeking ways to promote economic connection between China and countries in South and Southeast Asia kicked off in Beijing, China on January 19.
Hosted by the China investment commerce promotion forum, the three-day event attracted the participation of representatives in charge of trade from the embassies of Vietnam, Nepal, and Bangladesh, and those from over 400 Chinese and foreign businesses.
Among issues on the agenda, the focus of attention is expected to be on the ever-moving global capital flow, the industrial revolutionary 4.0, along with the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of things (IoT) and Big Data, which greatly impact on business activities in many countries in the regions.
The organiser’s representative said the event gives opportunity to China and its partner in South and Southeast Asia countries to review and assess development and achievements in their cooperation, thus jointly devising new orientations and measures to improve the business and investment environment in the region.
According to Vietnamese commercial counsellor in China Dao Viet Anh, the conference is a good chance to introduce Vietnam’s investment and trade policies to enterprises of China, Nepal, and Bangladesh, helping Vietnamese firms to set up cooperation with enterprises from these countries.
He said 2017 witnessed the fruitful economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and China, citing China customs statistics that showed two-way trade hit 121.3 billion USD, up 25.4 percent year-on-year.
Vietnam’s export turnover to China in the year increased by 35.4 percent, while the growth in its import turnover stood at 16.1 percent, he noted, adding that Vietnam's trade deficit with China is slowly narrowed.-VNA
VNA
