In an interview with VOV, former ambassador to China Bui Hong Phuc, said that China is Vietnam’s biggest partner with two-way trade turnover in the first nine months of this year reaching US$11 billion, and an expected US$14 billion for the whole year. However, there is a serious trade deficit between Vietnam and China as Vietnam often imports processed products such as oil, steel, and fertilizer while it exports raw products, such as agricultural products, vegetables and fruit, which is of low value. This is a very complicated issue and to resolve the problem it will need a great effort from Vietnamese businesses.

Mr Phuc who is a vice chairman of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association, said China has 31 cities and provinces and Vietnamese businesses should consider them as 31 different markets and research each market carefully to export the right products. China is a huge country and Vietnamese businesses have not yet accessed many parts of its market, such as in the east of the country. Local businesses should learn from the experiences of the Bitis footwear company. Although cheap Chinese footwear floods the market, Bitis still conquered it thanks to high quality and reasonable prices.

To compete with Chinese products, local businesses have to improve the quality of their products and reduce prices. For example, in the past Wan Li beer flooded into Vietnam but today beer produced in Vietnam is cheap and of high quality so Wan Li beer cannot get a foothold in the market.

Vietnam and China have both changed from subsidising many products to a market mechanism and as China has been a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for five years, Vietnam can learn a lot from their experiences. China has published a book on the WTO, which provides a lot of necessary information for businesses, such as what is the WTO, what are the advantages and disadvantages when joining the WTO and how to implement tax cuts. Meanwhile many Vietnamese businesses have little understanding of the WTO and they do not know where to go to find information on it.

Introducing the Vietnam-China Friendship Association, Mr Phuc said the association is an economic, political and social organization. Its activities aim to help the people of both countries understand the traditional relationship as well as the situation in both countries in order to build up a mutual belief and trust. The association has organized exchange visits to help businesses meet with each other and find opportunities to work together. It has liaised with many agencies to hold meetings and cultural exchanges on special days such as national days. However, the association has not done enough. In the near future, it will focus on practical activities, especially teaching the younger generation about the relationship between the two countries, providing a bridge to economic, cultural and sports co-operation.