Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyễn Hồng Diên and Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao had talks on Wednesday in Beijing. — Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Industry and Trade

BEIJING — Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyễn Hồng Diên held talks with Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao on Wednesday, as part of Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính’s official visit to China and attendance at the 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions of the World Economic Forum (WEF) from June 25-28.

Minister Diên appreciated the Chinese Ministry of Commerce's close coordination with Việt Nam to promptly tackle arising issues in economic and trade ties.

He suggested Minister Wang push for the expansion of Việt Nam-China bilateral trade and trade between the two countries' localities so as to bring more Vietnamese goods into the Chinese market.

Diên also asked the Chinese side to improve the efficiency of customs clearance at border gates, help accelerate the establishment of the Việt Nam Trade Promotion Office in Haikou this year and facilitate the transit of Vietnamese exports through the Chinese railway to third countries.

Highlighting the importance of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation to ensure Việt Nam-China supply chain between the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, Minister Diên said both sides should build an action plan to realise the MoU. This includes building a logistics network connecting the supply chains of both countries, from raw material regions and industrial parks to production facilities, ports, and distribution centres. The plan should also involve establishing distribution and logistics hubs in production and consumption areas of both countries.

Agreeing with Diên’s proposals, Wang pledged to assign relevant units to work with the MoIT to roll out cooperation in the mentioned aspects.

He touched upon issues of China's interest such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the upgrade of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA), and stronger collaboration in e-commerce. He also suggested Việt Nam back Chinese investment in the country.

In reply, Diên vowed to partner up with China on multilateral issues and assist reputable Chinese enterprises in investing in hi-tech and eco-friendly sectors.

Both sides also agreed to discuss cooperation within multilateral framework to boost economic and trade development of both countries.

On the occasion, the Vietnamese minister invited Minister Wang to visit Việt Nam to discuss further deepening bilateral comprehensive collaboration between respective agencies. Wang promised to arrange the visit in suitable time. — VNS