Vietnam-China forum focuses on cross-border trade
(VOV) -A Vietnam-China Comprehensive Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum took place in Hanoi on June 10, aimed at creating opportunities for bilateral trade and lifting the two countries’ economic relations to a higher level.
Speaking at the forum, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Ho Thi Kim Thoa affirmed that Vietnam-China comprehensive cooperation in recent years have seen strong development, contributing to socio-economic development of the two countries, and their border provinces in particular.
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She noted the high growth rate of cross-border trade between Vietnam and China, which averaged 23% a year, raising the value from US$3.5 billion in 2006 to US$8.6 billion in 2012.
Agro-forest-aquatic products and processed industrial goods are major Vietnamese export items to China; meanwhile, Vietnam mainly imports machinery, transportation vehicles, electronic goods, food, and home appliances from China.
At the forum, Wang Nai Xue, Director of the Department of Commerce of Guangxi (China) proposed the establishment of an experimental free trade border complex in Guangxi, which can serve as a model for the friendly cooperation between the two countries’ border areas.
Trade turnover between Guangxi and Vietnam reached US$9.73 billion in 2012, 12 times the figure of 2004.