Wu Juan, vice head of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Guangxi Committee speaks at the conference. — VNA/VNS Photo Xuân Anh

HCM CITY — There is ample room for Việt Nam and China’s localities, particularly Guangxi province, to boost trade collaboration, said Deputy Director of the city’s Investment & Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC) Nguyễn Tuấn.

Speaking at a conference on import-export cooperation between Việt Nam and Guangxi province held on Wednesday in HCM City, he said the relationship between Guangxi and Việt Nam has developed to a new height.

The two sides have agreed to implement cooperation in electricity trade and seaport, and improve customs clearance efficiency by piloting the "smart gate" model, contributing to deepening the China-Việt Nam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

By March 2023, China registered US$23.8 billion in total FDI in Việt Nam, ranking 6th out of 143 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian nation. In HCM City alone, China has 473 valid investment projects with a total capital of over $267 million, ranking 18th among the city's 119 investors.

He also affirmed that the city’s administration is always committed to accompanying businesses throughout their investment and business process. 

Wu Juan, vice head of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Guangxi Committee, said that among ASEAN countries, Việt Nam is China's largest trading partner with a bilateral trade turnover of $234.9 billion last year. For many consecutive years, China has been Việt Nam's largest import market and second biggest export market in the Asian region.

In particular, Việt Nam has maintained its position as Guangxi's largest trading partner for 24 years in a row. In 2022, total trade between Việt Nam and the Chinese province hit $29.3 billion, accounting for 70 per cent of the figure between Guangxi and ASEAN. 

She said the trade promotion conference helped build a connection platform and promote trade cooperation in areas such as construction materials, interior decoration, import and export supply chain, as well as partnerships between fruit traders of Guangxi and Việt Nam.

At the event, the two sides inked cooperation agreements on cold chain logistics to jointly promote the upgrading of cross-border cold chain system, thus facilitating the signing of fruit and vegetable purchase agreements between Guangxi and Vietnamese enterprises. — VNS