Illustration Image. Photo: VNA
The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade – Hubei branch co-organised a workshop on economic and trade affairs between Vietnam and the Chinese province on August 13 in Hanoi.
The event attracted the participation of representatives from the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment; the northern Vietnamese provinces of Cao Bang, Lang Son and Yen Bai; Hubei province; and more than 60 Chinese businesses operating in agriculture, food, machinery, garment, energy, chemicals and real estate.
VCCI Vice Chairman Doan Duy Khuong said that the workshop was significant to intensify mutual understating between the two countries and offered a chance for Vietnamese enterprises to promote their products and seek investment and cooperation opportunities.
Chinese companies are paying attention to agriculture, manufacturing and infrastructure construction, he noted, suggesting Vietnam focus on attracting Chinese companies in these fields.
According to statistics of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, trade between Vietnam and China had reached 31.9 billion USD as of June, up 17.2 percent against the same period last year, 7.72 billion USD of which came from Vietnam’s exports. In the period, Vietnam’s trade deficit with its neighbour hit 16.49 billion USD, a year-on-year rise of 32.07 percent.
Vietnam mainly sells crude oil, coal, rubber, rice, vegetables and fruits and purchases machines, electronic component parts, steel and fertilizers from China.
As of March, China was running 1,112 projects in Vietnam with total registered investment of 8 billion USD, ranking ninth out of 100 countries and territories investing in the country. China also ranks first in terms of the number of tourists to Vietnam in 2014. Vietnam welcomed with 1.9 million Chinese tourist arrivals last year and 700,000 arrivals in the first five months of this year.-VNA
