Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung hailed the practical contributions of Zhejiang businesses to Vietnam-China trade ties and called on them to seize investment opportunities in Vietnam.

PM Dung was addressing the Vietnam-China Trade-Economic Cooperation Forum in Zhejiang province’s capital of Hangzhou on April 28. The event brought together nearly 500 businesses, including 400 from Zhejiang and other Chinese localities.

Though citing an annual average growth rate of 25 percent in trade between Vietnam and Zhejiang over the past four years, the PM still said that both have not fully tapped the available potential for trade and investment.

In 2009, trade between Vietnam and Zhejiang was valued at only 1.4 billion USD. By the end of 2009, Zhejiang businesses had invested in 134 projects with a combined registered capital of 300 million USD in Vietnam . Meanwhile, 22 Vietnamese businesses have poured a modest amount of 20 million USD into the locality.

He cited the recovery in the two countries’ two-way trade in the first three months of this year, representing a 40 percent rise over the same period last year. As of the end of March, Chinese businesses were carrying out 700 projects capitalising at nearly 3 billion USD in Vietnam .

As the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement officially took effect this year, offering import tariff cuts to 0-5 percent for many products, Vietnamese and Chinese businesses should seize this opportunity to beef up their partnership to make profits for themselves and the two countries as well, PM Dung said.

He highlighted the organisation of this forum by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Trade Department and the International Trade Promotion Committee of Zhejiang.

“The forum is a practical and significant activity for Chinese businesses, including those from Zhejiang , and Hangzhou city, and Vietnamese partners to exchange information and seek opportunities for trade and investment, in sectors of high potential and to search for cooperative partners,” PM Dung noted.

He said he hoped Zhejiang and Vietnamese businesses will sign more deals and more invested projects will be licensed by both countries, thus contributing to further promoting bilateral friendship and cooperation.

PM Dung suggested both countries create conditions to boost their wide-ranging cooperation, particularly in economy, trade ties and investment, pledging to facilitate Chinese businesses’ operations in Vietnam .

The Mayor of Zhejiang province, Lu Zushan, spoke highly of PM Dung’s visit to his locality and affirmed that the local authorities will work to accelerate investment, trade and tourism ties with Vietnam and facilitate its businesses’ investment in Vietnam .

Following the forum, PM Dung and the Zhejiang Mayor witnessed the signing of cooperative documents between Vietnamese ministries, sectors and localities with Zhejiang , such as an agreement on tourism cooperation and the exchange of trade information between Ho Chi Minh City and Zhejiang province./.