Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyễn Hồng Diên (left) and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at their meeting on September 30. — Photo courtesy of congthuong.vn

HÀ NỘI — Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyễn Hồng Diên has called on China to foster investment cooperation with Việt Nam, given the country’s favourable geographical location and signing and negotiations of various free trade agreements that China could capitalise on.

Diên made the statement at a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Beijing on September 30 as he is in China to co-chair the 13th session of the Việt Nam-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Committee.

He took this occasion to thank the Chinese Government and competent agencies for opening market for Vietnamese agricultural products such as bird’s nest, fresh durian, and frozen durian, urging the State Council of China to continue creating favourable conditions for Việt Nam’s high-quality farm produce to penetrate the Chinese market to concretise Memoranda of Understanding signed between ministries, sectors and localities of the two nations.

Việt Nam hopes that the State Council of China will accelerate market opening for products of its strength like citrus fruits, avocado, custard apples, longans, and cardamom and complete the signing of a protocol on quarantine requirements for certain fruits that have been exported to the nation.

Diên stressed that the Vietnamese Government and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) stand ready to create favourable conditions for Chinese goods to enter the Vietnamese market.

He went on to suggest the Chinese side to support the building of brands for several products of Việt Nam’s strengths in the Chinese market such as milk, agro-aquatic products and processed food, facilitating Vietnamese goods’ deeper penetration into China’s retail system and e-commerce platforms.

Additionally, the minister urged the Chinese side to coordinate to facilitate custom clearance to prevent congestion at border gates while asking for the State Council of China's support for the establishment of Vietnamese trade promotion offices in China, initially in Hainan province.

He also recommended the Chinese side to enhance connectivity and ensure smooth supply chain of goods in the areas of industry and agriculture between the two countries, encourage Chinese firms with advanced, energy efficiency and environmentally-friendly technologies to expand investment in Việt Nam, while focusing on promoting the implementation of three railway routes connecting Việt Nam and China, namely Lào Cai-Hà Nội-Hải Phòng, Lạng Sơn-Hà Nội and Móng Cái-Hạ Long-Hải Phòng.

The Chinese Vice Premier, for his part, held that the economic and investment between the two countries have been developing in a stronger and more extensive, comprehensive and practical way, adding China has purchased a large amount of agricultural products from Asia and ASEAN, with those from Việt Nam accounting for 20 per cent of the total imports. China supports the purchase of goods that are favoured by consumers such as dragon fruit and durian.

The 7th China International Import Expo will be held in Shanghai soon, he said, adding Vietnamese firms could attend the event to promote their agricultural exports to not only China but also partner countries.

He said China is always interested in and ready to support bilateral railway cooperation, stating that both sides need to study the feasibility during the construction of the railways to create favourable conditions for enterprises and people of both nations.

The Chinese Vice Premier also added that competent parties need to effectively carry out agreements reached at the 13th session of the Việt Nam-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Committee and resolve arising issues, contributing to bolstering the Việt Nam-China cooperation with stability and long-term development.

During the January-August period, two-way trade increased 23.7 per cent year-on-year to US$130.8 billion. China was the fourth largest investor in Việt Nam during the eight-month span with $1.65 billion in registered capital. However, the results were not on par with the potential of the bilateral political, diplomatic and economic ties. — VNS