Participants attends at a business conference on bilateral trade between Việt Nam and China yesterday in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyết

HÀ NỘI – Business communities play an important role in accelerating bilateral trade between Việt Nam and China, said Huang Xiaohang, vice chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade under the Zhejiang Provincial Committee (CCPIT Zhejiang).

During a business conference yesterday in the capital, Huang said Việt Nam has become China’s largest trade partner in ASEAN in 2016, and two-way trade would likely reach US$100 billion this year.

Đỗ Kim Lang, deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Trade Promotion Agency agreed, saying there was ample room for the two countries to further boost commercial ties.

He added that the Vietnamese Government made great efforts to improve the country’s investment and business climate to facilitate domestic and foreign business, including enterprises from China.

General Secretary of the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Phạm Thị Thu Hằng, described the business forum as a good chance for the two nations’ businesses to explore co-operation opportunities.

During the event, enterprises discussed opportunities to co-ordinate across a wide range of sectors, including electronics components, handicrafts, household utensils, interior decoration and design.

Data from the Việt Nam General Department of Customs showed an eight per cent growth of two-year trade to US$71.9 billion in 2016.

Việt Nam exported $21.97 billion worth of goods, mainly computers and parts, vegetables and fruit, seafood and electronics, to China in 2016, up 28.4 per cent year-on-year, while its imports from the neighboring country saw a slight yearly increase of 1 per cent to $49.93 billion. Last year, Việt Nam’s trade deficit with China dropped 14 per cent to $27.96 billion.

In terms of investment, China was one of Việt Nam’s leading sources of foreign investment with 1,615 projects, capitalised at US$11.1 billion, as of March, 2017.

Also at the conference, Nguyễn Nội, deputy head of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment encouraged businesses from China’s Zhejiang Province to invest in Việt Nam’s supporting industries, high-tech industries and environmentally-friendly ones. — VNS