Hanoi meeting links Vietnam-China localities, businesses

Hanoi (VNA) – The Foreign Ministry of Vietnam and the Hanoi People’s Committee held a meeting between Vietnamese and Chinese localities and businesses in Hanoi on March 31.

The event was part of the sixth Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) Summit and the 10th Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV) Summit on Development Triangle Area.

The event was attended by Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, Trade Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam Hu Suojin, officials of four Chinese provinces (Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan) and 16 Vietnamese provinces and cities, along with hundreds of the two countries’ businesses.

Opening the event, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung highly valued the Chinese provincial leaders’ participation in the meeting. With big economic strength, the four provinces are also the Chinese localities taking the lead in economic, trade, investment and tourism cooperation with Vietnam.

In 2017, trade between the four provinces and Vietnamese localities reached 59 billion USD, accounting for 63 percent of the two countries’ total trade revenue.

He stressed that the Vietnamese Government welcomes and pledges the best possible conditions for foreign businesses, including those from the Chinese provinces, to invest in Vietnam.

The official called on the Chinese central and local governments, especially authorities of Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan, to continue opening their market for the goods that Vietnam is strong at and China has demand for like agricultural products, pork and milk. He also asked for the facilitation of customs clearance for Vietnamese goods in border areas and the development of bilateral trade in a healthier and more balanced manner.

Hanoi always attaches importance to promoting collaboration with Chinese localities and businesses in the spirit of comprehensive, long-term and win-win cooperation, said Hanoi Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung.

He said the capital city is home to 262 projects invested by Chinese firms with total registered capital of 371 million USD, and Hanoi raked in 8.9 billion USD from export to China in 2017.

The municipal authority will continue promoting administrative reform, and work closely with customs agencies of Vietnam and China to maximise support for customs clearance, thus facilitating trade links and goods exchange between the two countries’ enterprises, he affirmed.

At the meeting, Vice Governor of Guangdong province Ouyang Weimin said by the end of 2017, as many as 114 enterprises from Guangdong invested in Vietnam with total capital of 240 million USD.

The authority and people of Guangdong hope the two countries will continue fostering strategic cooperation and joining initiatives, thus creating momentum for the China-Vietnam cooperation.

Guangdong and Vietnamese localities have many cooperation opportunities in the fields of transport, education, and tourism, he stressed, adding that his locality want to further bolster tourism link and people-to-people exchange with Vietnam, towards reinforcing cultural and social collaboration between the two sides.

He also called on Vietnamese firms to further invest in Guangdong, expressing his hope that Guangdong’s firms will enjoy favourable investment environment in Vietnam.

During the event, localities and enterprises of the two countries shared information about investment climate and opportunities for business cooperation in the coming time. -VNA