Vietnam and China hold great potential and opportunities for further cooperation and Vietnam pledges to create favourable conditions for foreign businesses to invest in the country, said a ministry official.
Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang, delivered this message at a dialogue forum in Hanoi on July 16 between the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MoPI) and Chinese companies which are operating in Vietnam.
Hoang spoke highly of the role played by the business communities of both nations in fostering the strong development of economic, trade and investment relations in recent years.
The Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam, Sun Guoxiang, said the Government of China places huge importance on developing economic and trade ties with neighbours, especially Vietnam.
The Chinese Government also supports capable and prestigious companies to do business in foreign markets on the basis of mutual trust and benefit, he said.
Sun said he hoped that via the dialogue, Vietnam’s concerned agencies and Chinese businesses would work together to deal with outstanding difficulties and obstacles, thereby boosting bilateral economic and commercial relations.
At the forum, which saw the attendance of representatives from almost 150 Chinese companies, MoIT and MoPI officials discussed issues Chinese firms are interested in, such as Vietnam’s strategies to develop its oil refinery and petrochemical industry, tax policy, the use of yuan in cross-border trade payments, customs procedures, investment incentives and priority fields for investment.
Statistics released by MoIT show that Vietnam-China trade has recorded an annual average growth rate of 32 percent during the past decade. Despite the adverse impacts of the global economic crisis, two-way trade reached 21.35 billion USD in 2009, up 5.4 percent from the previous year.
Thanks to the world economy’s recovery, earnings from Vietnamese exports to China rose by 44 percent in the first five months of this year, while import turnover surged by 33 percent as compared with 2009.
By the end of June 2010, China had invested in 720 projects in Vietnam with a combined registered capital of 2.92 billion USD, ranking 15 th among 91 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian country.
The forum was held as part of the Vietnam-China Friendship Year 2010 and celebrations of the 60 th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations.
In the south, after national reunification, the movement has still been maintained in several localities, including Ho Chi Minh City, Kien Giang, Vinh Long, Tra Vinh and Bac Lieu./.