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VN eyes trade balance with China
Domestic firms have been urged to boost exports to China to offset Viet Nam's huge trade deficit with the neighbouring country.
China is a large market with a high demand for products that Viet Nam specialises in, such as wood and furniture, agricultural products, foodstuff and raw materials, according to the China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) Secretariat.
However, it said that only a few Vietnamese enterprises had successfully utilised opportunities to introduce their products and services to Chinese consumers.
As well as facilitating exports to China, Viet Nam has vowed to create favourable conditions for Chinese firms to develop industrial and export processing zones in the country.
According to the deputy general director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Asia Pacific Market Department, Dao Ngoc Chuong, these conditions could support the industrial production and export processes.
Chuong also encouraged firms to improve the value of Vietnamese exports for which China has a long-term consumption demand or can re-export to third countries, arguing that this would gradually reduce the country's trade deficit with China.
The General Department of Customs said Viet Nam's trade deficit with its northern neighbour has hit US$6.55 billion already this year, an amount equivalent to 40 per cent of 2012 in its entirety.
During the period, Viet Nam exported only $3.88 billion worth of goods to China while its imports from the country stood at $10.43 billion, the department said.
Since 2000, the structure of Vietnamese goods exported to China, mainly including mineral resources, agricultural products and seafood, has remained unchanged. This is an explanation for the deficit with China rising from $210 million in 2001 to $16.39 billion in 2012, Chuong said.
During the eighth session of the Viet Nam – China Joint State Commission on Economic and Trade Co-operation held last month in Ha Noi, the two sides signed an MoU on bilateral co-operation in agro-products trading.
This was an important agreement helping the partners in this sector, especially as Viet Nam has the potential to boost the export of these products to China with a view to lowering the trade deficit.
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