President Truong Tan Sang and National Assembly deputies of Ho Chi Minh City on June 28 met with local entrepreneurs to listen to their opinions on business facts, particularly amid the demand for both safeguarding the national sovereignty in the East Sea and shoring up the economy.

Tran Viet Anh, Vice Chair of the HCM City Rubber and Plastics Manufacturers Association, reported that more than 3,000 plastics enterprises nationwide have to import 6 billion USD worth of materials, mostly from China, every year.

Pham Xuan Hong, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, said materials for their production are mainly imported from China, thus the State should make the best use of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and free trade agreements to develop the country’s support industries.

Meanwhile, Vu Van Minh, General Director of the Vina Giay Corporation – specialising in making footwear – suggested more favourable policies to be issued to help domestic businesses produce materials on their own.

Responding to proposals targeting an independent economy, the State leader asked businesses to heed the date of January 1, 2016, when ASEAN and China will remove their trade barriers.

At that time, if domestic production remains stagnant like it is now, Vietnam will be flooded with Chinese goods, he noted.

Support industries create a large number of jobs and help drive the gross domestic product growth, yet most of the profit from this sector flows into foreign investors, President Sang noted.

He ordered the business circle to join hands with relevant agencies to soon devise measures to regain the economy’s momentum and ease dependence on imported materials.

At the meeting, President Sang and NA deputies also heard entrepreneurs’ proposals regarding real estates, the gold market and the import of animal feed.-VNA