|
Chinese city seeks stronger trade ties
A multi-sector delegation of 35 enterprises from Zhuhai City in China's Guangdong Province met with local businesses yesterday in HCM City to exchange information and seek business partners.
The enterprises operate in electronics, garment and textile, pharmaceutical, trade and engineering, and other manufacturing industries.
Speaking at a meeting on trade and economic cooperation between Viet Nam and China, Chen Hong Hui, deputy chairman of Zhuhai City People's Committee, said trade and investment between the city and ASEAN countries, including Viet Nam, have increased continuously in the past few years.
Zhuhai City – ASEAN bilateral trade topped US$2.1 billion in the first half of this year for a year-on-year increase of 51.5 per cent.
In the same period, bilateral trade turnover between Zhuhai and Viet Nam reached $320.56 million, with exports from the former accounting for $271 million, he said.
Viet Nam's key exports to Zhuhai are coal, electronic products and seafood products.
It imports machinery, fuel, chemicals and raw materials for the garment and textile sector from the city, he said.
"Vietnamese companies should visit Zhuhai and strengthen co-operation in trade and investment co-operation," he added.
Xu Ning Ning, deputy secretary general of the China-ASEAN Business Council, said in the past years, China has remained the largest trade partner of Viet Nam in the ASEAN bloc.
More and more Chinese companies want to invest in the potential market that Viet Nam represents, he said.
As of March this year, China had 681 investment projects in Viet Nam with a total registered capital of $2.73 billion, Ning said.
Bilateral trade value between Viet Nam and China reached $17.8 billion in the first eight months of the year, an increase of 46.3 per cent over the same period last year.
However, Viet Nam has a huge trade deficit with China, and to offset it, the country should take steps to boost exports, Ning advised.
To ensure sustainable trade between the two countries, the two sides should bolster co-operation and information exchange, offering each other preferential trade policies to address the trade imbalance, he added.
Doan Duy Khuong, deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement will provide great opportunities for both Chinese and Vietnamese companies to boost exports.
He called on Vietnamese companies to improve their production technology to raise product quality and diversification in order to become more competitive in foreign markets.
vietnamnews
|
