Vietnam, China look towards stronger trade ties

China has remained Vietnam’s biggest trade partner. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – China has remained Vietnam’sbiggest trade partner, while Vietnam has continued to be the sixth largesttrade partner of the neighbouring country, and the biggest in the Associationof Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) despites impacts of the COVID-19 pandemicand geopolitical upheavals in the world.

According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry andTrade, China has been Vietnam’s biggest importer with turnover of some 55.9billion USD, up 37 times from the figure in 2002.

Notably, the group of processed and manufactured goodsmakes up 77.6% of Vietnam’s total export value to China. Meanwhile, machinesand production materials accounted for up to 94.15% of Vietnam’s import revenuefrom the neighbouring country.

Over the past two years, the bilateral trade stillexceeded 100 billion USD despite impacts from the pandemic.

Statistics released by the General Department ofVietnam Customs showed that the two-way trade was valued at 165.8 billion USD in2021, up 24.6% from the previous year.

Vietnamese passion fruits have been exported to China viathe official channel on a pilot basis from July 2022 and fresh durians fromVietnam has also been also officially shipped to the country from September2022.

In the first nine months of this year, Vietnam’s export turnover to China reached 41.22 billion USD, up 6.22% year-on-year, making up 14.6% of Vietnam’stotal export value. Meanwhile, the country's import revenue from China was 91.15 billion USD, ayear-on-year rise of 12.12%, making up 33.08% of Vietnam’s combined importrevenue.

Under the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA),China has cut tariffs for more than 8,000 items imported from Vietnam,including farm produce.

Le Hoang Oanh, Director of the MoIT’s Department of Asia-Africa Markets, suggested Vietnamese exporters carefully study the market, changetheir mindset and observe relevant regulations set by the market.

For the long term, the MoIT has asked domesticbusinesses to accelerate the shift to the export via the official channel in accordancewith international trade rules to ensure stable, sustainable export.

At the 11th session of the Vietnam-ChinaEconomic and Trade Cooperation Committee earlier this month, the Chinese side affirmedthat China attaches importance to economic and trade ties with Vietnam, and proposedsome orientations and measures to step up the two-way trade.

The official visit to China by General Secretary ofthe Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong, from October30 to November 2, is also expected to deepen the trade ties between the twocountries./.

VNA