Vietnam – China economic, trade cooperation becomes close, complementary: expert
In recent years, economic and trade ties between Vietnam and China have been continously strengthened and upgraded, becoming one of the key pillars of China – ASEAN cooperation, according to a Chinese expert.
In an interview with a Vietnam News Agency correspondent in China, Zhang Jianping, Vice Chairman of the academic committee of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce, said General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President Xi Jinping has repeatedly underlined the goal of building a China – Vietnam community with a shared future, describing it as a crucial orientation for bilateral relations in the new era. Alongside this, economic and trade relations between the two countries have expanded rapidly and grown ever closer.
According to the 2024 data from the General Administration of Customs of China published on Comnews.cn, bilateral trade had exceeded US$260 billion – a level rarely seen in China’s trade relations with foreign partners. Notably, Vietnam, with a population of around 100 million, now records a trade volume with China that is twice that of India, despite India’s population of more than 1.4 billion.
Zhang noted that within the framework of China – ASEAN cooperation, particularly the 3.0 version of the China – ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, the two countries have established systematic cooperation mechanisms, strongly promoting international production capacity cooperation and two-way investment.
As Vietnam leverages its demographic advantages and steps up an export-, trade- and investment-led growth model, bilateral trade and investment between the two countries have reached high levels. In 2024, China – ASEAN trade surpassed US$980 billion and was expected to exceed US$1 trillion in 2025, with Vietnam alone accounting for around 25% of the total value. This, Zhang said, underlines Vietnam’s role as a pillar of China – ASEAN cooperation.
He added that differences in per capita GDP between the two countries reflect their different stages of development but also create strong complementarities in economic cooperation.
Looking ahead, he expressed hope that the two sides would continue to deepen cooperation in infrastructure, connectivity, production capacity, trade and investment. Chinese enterprises, he said, are expected to increase investment and build factories and industrial parks in Vietmam, helping to elevate bilateral economic and trade relations and promote the sustainable development of China–ASEAN cooperation.
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