HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam was one of the fastest growing economies in the world and had been recognised as the new economic tiger of Asia.

The statement was made by Secretary General of Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Li Baodong at a forum on Việt Nam-China economic promotion held in Hà Nội on Thursday.

It was the first time the BFA has been organised in Việt Nam and acted as the first step for the BFA to promote economic and trade co-operation between Việt Nam and China.

Baodong confirmed that Việt Nam was a significant economy with political stability, infrastructure and a business environment that were improving and attracting international investors.

According to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Hoài Trung, co-operation on economics, trade and investment continued to be the highlight of their relations.

In the first 11 months of this year, bilateral trade turnover between Việt Nam and China reached over US$97 billion, a year-on-year increase of 16.5 per cent.

Chinese tourists to Việt Nam hit more than 4.5 million people, up 27 per cent compared to the same period last year. There are over 500 flights between Việt Nam and China each week.

China continued to be the leading trade and tourism partner of Việt Nam. Meanwhile, Việt Nam is also China’s biggest trade partner in the ASEAN bloc and China’s 8th largest trade partner in the world, Trung added.

Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Chairman Vũ Tiến Lộc said by the end of November 2018, China had invested in 2,102 projects in Việt Nam with total registered investment of $13.05 billion, ranking 7th out of 129 countries and territories investing in Việt Nam. Chinese investors often focus on processing, energy, real estate and other products such as textiles, electronics and services.

However, Việt Nam still faced a trade deficit with China. “Việt Nam wants China to increase its imports of Vietnamese goods with competitive advantages to gradually improve the bilateral trade balance,” Lộc told Việt Nam News.

Speaking at the forum, Hà Nội People’s Committee Chairman Nguyễn Đức Chung said there were 425 Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) projects operating in the city with total registered capital of $517 million. Chinese firms had registered to open 100 representative offices in Hà Nội.

Under the plan "two corridors, one economic belt", Hà Nội had actively participated in economic co-operation meetings in the two localities of the two countries.

However, according to Chung, economic, trade and investment co-operation between the two sides had not met its potential.

“Hà Nội will focus on reviewing key items and products that meet export standards as well as the requirements of the Chinese market, while reforming export-import administrative procedures,” Chung told Việt Nam News.

The event was jointly organised by the BFA, the Chinese Embassy in Việt Nam, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hà Nội’s People’s Committee and the VCCI. — VNS