Ample room ahead to build stronger economic and trade links with China

On the afternoon of April 10, held within the framework of an official visit to China in Shanghai, NA Chairman Hue attended a policy and law forum on promoting investment and trade ties with China.

In his speech, the top Vietnamese legislator shared his positive impression on the strong and dynamic development of Shanghai - a leading, modern and most developed economic centre of China. As a city full of vitality on the banks of the Huangpu River, Shanghai is a leading locality that has paved the way for China’s reform and opening process.

The NA Chairman was pleased to see that close relations, friendship, and comprehensive co-operation between both sides continue to develop strongly, thereby achieving many new and great advances, including economic and trade ties. Trade and investment continues to be a bright spot in the two countries' relationship, he said, while stressing that there remains plenty of room to step up economic, trade, and investment co-operation.

The NA leader pointed out factors for both nations to strengthen collaboration in the fields of economics, trade, and investment. This includes both countries having open economies with exports playing an important role, with capacity to adapt to international trade principles; the two economies being compatible, interconnected, and complementary; as well as the two sides having the same awareness and supporting each other in many co-operation mechanisms such as the Community of Shared Future, Belt and Road, Global Development, Global Security, and Global Civilization.

The two sides also continue to be active members of many multilateral co-operation mechanisms, such as between ASEAN and China, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and many signed investment promotion and protection mechanisms.

Firms from the two countries have full legal framework and favourable conditions to connect trade and work together in order to become important links in regional and global supply chains, NA Chairman Hue went on to say.

In this spirit, he proposed a number of directions to further promote the potential and strengths of the two sides, thereby making economic, trade, and investment co-operation truly the pillars of joint ties.

The NA Chairman underlined the need to strengthen linkages between the two legislatures, Governments, and localities to share experience in building policies and laws on businesses, business investment, and adapting to rapid changes occurring in science, technology, and the current international environment.

Both sides should strive to enhance the connectivity between the two economies in the "win-win, and mutually beneficial” spirit, especially focusing on the results of the exchange visits by the two countries’ senior leaders.

Vietnam therefore welcomes Chinese and Shanghai financiers to investing in areas such as science and technology innovation, research and development, the green economy, the digital economy, the circular economy, the knowledge economy, and the artificial economy. This is along with digital transformation; financial hubs; green finance; strategic infrastructure development of transport hubs such as airports, seaports, highways, high-speed railways, and urban railways; electronic components; electric cars; artificial intelligence; smart agriculture; and high-tech agriculture.

The NA Chairman noted that these are the industries and fields in which firms from Shanghai in particular and China in general have experience and strengths in, while Vietnam has needs and development potential.

He expressed his wish that Chinese investors would step up collaboration in technology transfer, improve production capacity, and bring Vietnamese enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, deeper into the value-added chain.

He affirmed that the Vietnamese NA is committed to always listening and building a transparent, fair, and comprehensive legal framework, thereby creating suitable conditions for foreign investors, as well as Chinese enterprises to do businesses successfully in the Vietnamese market.

At the forum, leaders of ministries, sectors, localities, and businesses exchanged information regarding the two sides' socio-economic development policies, strategic directions aimed at attracting investment, and fully tapping into the great co-operation potential that exists between the two sides.

Within the framework of the Forum, NA Chairman Hue and delegates attended the 10th anniversary of VietJet opening air route to China and announcing the direct flight connecting Ho Chi Minh City with China's Xi'an.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang congratulated VietJet on 10 years of connections and expanding the Vietnam - China flight network, as well as announcing the opening of a new route between Ho Chi Minh City and Xi'an.

The Deputy PM believes that VietJet will continue to open more new routes connecting the two countries as a contribution to promoting trade and deepening mutual understanding between the two peoples.

Also at the forum, Vietnam Airlines announced plans to put Boeing 787 wide-body aircraft into operation on the route between Vietnam and China. Specifically, from June, Vietnam Airlines will additionally operate wide-body aircraft on routes from Hanoi to Shanghai and Beijing, in addition to Airbus A321 aircraft. From July, Vietnam Airlines will operate wide-body aircraft for all flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Shanghai.