Vietnamese and Chinese businesses operating in mechanics and energy had a chance to exchange information and seek cooperation opportunities at a seminar in Hanoi on Aug. 17.

The event was jointly held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Beijing research institute of state enterprise information technology.

Vietnam had a huge demand for machinery and facilities to serve the exploitation of natural resources, minerals and clean energies during its integration and development process, said Pham Quang Thinh, Deputy Director of the VCCI’s International Relations Department.

The demand was expected to increase in coming years, he said.

Since the establishment of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area in 2010, a large volume of goods, including agricultural and industrial products, had enjoyed low import taxes of between 0-5 percent.

Thinh underlined the need for the two countries’ businesses to take advantage of that low tax rate to cooperate in trade, investment and joint venture production, contributing to the development of the two economies.

According to VCCI, Vietnam-China economic ties were strongly developed and China was becoming one of Vietnam ’s leading trade partners.

In the first half of this year, two-way trade between Vietnam and China reached 15.7 billion USD, of which Vietnam shipped abroad 4.6 billion USD and imported 11.1 billion USD worth of goods.

Meanwhile, China has by the end of July, 2011 invested in 805 projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of over 3 trillion USD./.