Vietnamese and Chinese businesses are encouraged to broaden trade co-operation in order to achieve the 2017 objective of bilateral trade worth US$100 billion, said Minister Counsellor at the Embassy of Viet Nam in China Nguyen Dac Thanh at a trade promotion workshop held in Hunan Province, China on Wednesday. — Photo zing.vn

The workshop, jointly organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in China and Hunan Province's Department of Commerce, is part of the ongoing 2016 ASEAN-Hunan Famous Brand High-Quality Products Trade Fair, which started Wednesday and will last until October 23.

At the workshop, Thanh reaffirmed that it was a necessary step to help businesses from the two countries to seek opportunities and potentials for co-operation in the context of the newly established ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the ever developing, stable and in-depth friendly co-operation between Viet Nam and China.

As oriented by Party leaders and the governments of both Viet Nam and China, the two sides will continue to deepen co-operation; implement effective methods to boost sound and stable bilateral economic, trade and investment, beneficial to economic and general living standard development in the respective nations; and encourage businesses to broaden trade co-operation in a stable, harmonious and secure manner.

Attending the workshop were authoritative figures from local government and Hunan departments, as well as officials and scholars from both Viet Nam and China. Additionally, representatives from 40 Vietnamese businesses and nearly 100 Chinese businesses attended the workshop.

Many scholars and experts at the workshop exchanged opinions on the respective countries' economic situations, opportunities and challenges, to seek future co-operation and development. The Government of Viet Nam is always ready to create favourable conditions for Chinese businesses to thrive and invest in Viet Nam.

Twenty businesses from Viet Nam attended the trade fair in Hunan with nearly 70 stalls of high quality products and a variety of specialities from the many regions of Viet Nam.

Viet Nam encourages Chinese businesses to invest in projects in accordance with Viet Nam's needs and its sustainable development strategy, especially in the fields of construction materials, machinery, electrics, renewable energy and green development.

Trade relations between Viet Nam and China have shown positive achievements in recent years. The total trade balance in 2015 between the two countries was above $66 billion, according to Viet Nam's statistics. China is Viet Nam's largest trade partner for 12 consecutive years, while Viet Nam became China's largest trade partner in ASEAN for the first time in 2015.

As of July 2016, Chinese businesses had invested in nearly 1,500 projects in Viet Nam with total investment funding of almost $11 billion. China is the 9th largest international investor in Viet Nam.

China sends more tourists to Viet Nam than any other country, and it is also the number one destination for Vietnamese travelers. In the first 9 months of 2016, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Viet Nam has increased by around 55 per cent, reaching nearly two- million, which was the total in 2015. — VNS