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Vietnam-China trade deficit continues to soar
Vietnam’s trade deficit with its giant neighbor China has grown by an average 83 percent a year this decade and is expected to widen further this year.
Government figures show the trade gap between Vietnam with China reached US$11.1 billion last year.
During the year, Vietnam’s exports to China accounted for $4.6 billion of the $15.7 billion in two-way trade.
In 2001, the trade deficit between Vietnam and China was just $211 million.
A year later, the trade deficit between the neighboring nations was $663.3 million and in 2003 the gap was $1.7 billion.
By 2006, the trade deficit had blown out to $4.4 billion and in 2007 it widened further to $6.8 billion.
In the first six months of this year, the Vietnam-China trade deficit climbed to $5 billion and the full-year figure is projected to exceed last year’s trade gap, according to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
The trend of importing Chinese goods shows no sign of abating, with Vietnamese supermarkets and retail outlets stocking more and more Chinese goods.
However, Vietnamese exports to China do not appear to have diversified in recent years, with fuel and unrefined minerals accounting for 55 percent of Vietnam’s exports to its neighbor.
Agricultural and seafood products account for 15 percent of Vietnam’s exports to China, industrial products 10 percent and the remaining 20 percent is made up of other items, including textiles, garments and shoes, according to ministry figures.
China is now Vietnam’s third largest export market in terms of value, after the U.S. and Japan.
vietnews, Nhip Cau Dau Tu
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