Beijing (VNA) – Vietnam is attracting growing interest from Chinese businesses, not only in trade and traditional manufacturing but also in high-tech sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), the digital economy, the low-altitude economy and smart agriculture, Chinese businesses and associations told Vietnam News Agency correspondents in China.
He Zhenwei, Chairman of the China Overseas Development Association (CODA), said Chinese businesses are particularly interested in Vietnam, both as an investment destination and as a market for economic and trade activities. This, he said, demonstrated Vietnam’s appeal to foreign businesses, including Chinese companies seeking opportunities to expand their operations.
Assessing bilateral economic and trade ties, He said the growth in Vietnam-China trade is noteworthy amid continued global economic uncertainty, intensifying trade competition and the impact of tariffs on international commerce. He attributed the results to efforts to promote high-level cooperation based on the common perceptions reached by the two countries’ leaders, while also reflecting Vietnam’s growing appeal to Chinese businesses.
He expressed optimism about the prospects for bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation, noting that the relationship has considerable room for development, not only in scale but also in quality, particularly in high-tech industries and the digital economy.
Looking ahead, the CODA chairman said the two countries should build on their existing cooperation while shifting towards higher-quality development. Alongside traditional sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture and mineral resources, they should give greater priority to advanced manufacturing, AI, the digital economy and the low-altitude economy, all of which offer considerable potential.
He stressed that the aim should be not merely to expand the scale of trade and investment, but also to improve their quality, efficiency and technological content. Combining established areas of cooperation with emerging technology sectors could provide fresh momentum for Vietnam-China economic ties in the years ahead.
On smart agriculture, He said there is significant potential for cooperation, particularly in applying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), automation and digital solutions to agricultural production. China has made rapid advances in smart agriculture, while demand for technologies to improve production efficiency offers businesses in both countries opportunities to exchange experience and develop practical cooperation.
He noted that geographical proximity and the longstanding friendship between the two countries provide favourable conditions for such cooperation. The China Overseas Development Association plans to continue working with Vietnamese partners to organise business networking activities in smart agriculture, helping Chinese technology companies find partners and expand cooperation in Vietnam. From the perspective of a technology company, Ma Chao, Vice Chairman of Shenzhen Hejin Huagu Information Technology Co., Ltd., said Vietnam is one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing digital economies, with a large young population and increasingly widespread internet access and mobile application use. These characteristics align well with his company’s technology service development strategy.
To expand its operations in Vietnam, the company hopes to gain a deeper understanding of policies on digital economy and AI development, regulations on data security and personal information protection, and domestic businesses’ practical needs in customer service, marketing and digital transformation.
Ma said the company’s priority is to establish technology cooperation and build a partner ecosystem with Vietnamese system integrators, solution providers and technology partners.
Looking ahead, cooperation between Vietnam and China in AI, the digital economy, high-tech agriculture and the low-altitude economy is expected to have considerable room for growth. Their existing economic and trade ties, coupled with demand in both countries for digital transformation and the application of technology in production, provide favourable conditions for businesses to strengthen connections, share experience and implement substantive cooperation projects./.
