PM talks with leading Chinese groups

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the talk

The event is part of the leader’s trip to China to attend the first International Import Expo of China (CIIE 2018) on November 4-5. 

Speaking at the talk, PM Phuc said the Vietnam-China fruitful relationship has created a foundation for their economic and trade ties. 

He cited China’s statistics revealing that two-way trade exceeded US$120 billion in 2017, even higher than the accumulated trade turnover between China and many European countries. 

Vietnam has also maintained its position as China’s largest partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he noted. 

The PM used the occasion to brief the Chinese businesses on Vietnam’s political and socio-economic situation over the past years, saying each year Vietnam needs US$25 billion for infrastructure building and US$138 billion for electricity development.

The capital will be mobilised from different resources, including the private sector, he added. 

Laying stress on the agricultural sector with 20 exports earning more than US$1 billion each, PM Phuc said that Vietnam is the 15th largest agricultural exporter in the world and the second in ASEAN.

Besides rice, pepper, coffee, cashew, basa fish and shrimp which have been popular around the world, Vietnam has dragon fruit, mango, longan, lychee, pomelo and watermelon cultivated in line with the clean, smart agriculture practices, and qualified to enter choosy markets like the US, the EU, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Australia, he added.

PM Phuc said that although China is the largest buyer of Vietnamese farm produce, most of the products are consumed in the country’s southern localities and they have not entered deeply in this market yet.

The PM hoped businesses will contribute opinions and recommendations for Vietnam’s development, thus promoting the potential and strength of each country. 

He called on Chinese enterprises to import Vietnam’s agricultural products, towards balancing trade between the two countries. 

While appreciating the Vietnamese market’s potential, Chinese enterprises showed their desire to continue investing and expanding their investment in Vietnam. 

They hailed efforts made by the Vietnamese Government in improving its investment environment, saying that they are willing to help Vietnamese goods gain greater presence in the Chinese market. 

Chinese firms informed that they will enhance investment in many fields in Vietnam such as clean agriculture and food production, adding that apart from transferring technology, the two sides can consider cooperation in infrastructure development in Vietnam as the Southeast Asian nation has huge potential for collaboration in building industrial parks and seaports through the forms of Build – Operate – Transfer (BOT) and Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC).