Vietnam urged to tap China trade, investment

Speaking at a recent seminar in Ho Chi MinhCity, Li Zhenmin, commercial and economic counselor at the Chinese Consulate General, urged Vietnam to seek Chinese partners for long-term cooperation in trade and investment.

Vietnam's trade deficit with China has ballooned in recent years, and now stands at US$9.8 billion.

While Vietnamese officials have urged China to increase imports, Zhenmin said that China had opened its doors to Vietnamese exports.

Citing statistics from China's Customs department, he said China's import turnover from Vietnam had recorded an average growth of 15%-20% per year in recent years, a relatively high rate.

For many years, China has been the largest buyer of agricultural exports from Vietnam.

Vietnamese agricultural products are transported to China through the Lao Cai International Bordergate. China is the largest buyer of agricultural goods from Viet Nam. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet

Vietnam is the second largest trade partner of China in the ASEAN region.

This year, bilateral trade between the two countries is expected to reach US$100 billion, Zhenmin said.

"To increase cooperation, a transnational e-commerce floor for the two countries should be established. We can take advantage of the internet to increase information transparency, which would create favourable conditions for the two countries' businesses," he said.

Chinese importers did not understand the Vietnamese market fully, he said, adding that Vietnamese businesses also encountered obstacles and should seek only competent and reliable Chinese importers.

Zhenmin advised Vietnamese businesses to increase export quality, avoid violations of intellectual property rights, and refuse to make or buy counterfeit products.

Nguyen The Hung, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City branch of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said bilateral relations between Vietnam and China had shown impressive growth but there was still unexploited potential.

Last year, the total export-import turnover of the two countries reached US$58.7 billion, an increase of 16.5% compared to the same period last year.

Vietnam's exports in 2014 totalled US$14.9 billion, up 11.8%. Imports were US$43.8 billion, an increase of 18.2%.

In the first five months of this year, Vietnamese exports to China reached US$6.1 billion, a decrease of 1.2% over the same period last year.

Vietnam's imports totalled US$15.9 billion, an increase of 19.1% in the first five months.

Vietnam's main exports to China are crude oil, telephones and parts, rubber, rice, fruit, vegetables and seafood, while it imported machinery, equipment, steel and fertiliser from China.

Last year, China had the largest number of tourists to Vietnam (1.9 million), an increase of 2.1% over 2013.

In the first five months, the number of Chinese tourists to Vietnam reached 700,000.

China had a total of 1,112 projects with total registered capital of US$8 billion by March this year, ranking ninth among 100 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.

China had 99 investment projects in Vietnam with total investment capital of US$253 million in 2014.