Trade between Viet Nam and China has increased dramatically in recent years but there is much more room for them to strengthen investment and trade ties, the China-Viet Nam Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum heard in HCM City on Wednesday.

Vo Tan Thanh, director of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s HCM City office, said China is Viet Nam’s largest trade partner and Viet Nam is that country’s largest trading partner in ASEAN and eighth largest in the world.

Bilateral trade was worth US$86.7 billion in the first 10 months of the year, an increase of 13.6 per cent year-on-year.

“China was Viet Nam’s third largest export market in the period, with the exports being worth $33.48 billion, 26.8 per cent up from the same period last year.”

Viet Nam’s main exports were electronic products, computers and accessories, telephones, farm produce, footwear, and cameras and accessories, he said.

“The structure of Viet Nam’s exports to China has significantly changed with a reduction in export of raw materials and natural resources and increase in export of processed goods.”

China was Viet Nam’s largest source of imports ($53.39 billion) during the period.

Wei Xichen of the economic and commercial section at the Chinese consulate in HCM City said in recent years China has increased investment in Viet Nam, and this is expected to continue in future.

As of last month, Chinese firms had invested $13.1 billion, he said.

But the figures still do not do justice to the potential, he said.

Shen Wenjian, deputy general director of Shenyue Joint Investment Company, an investor in the China-Viet Nam economic and trade co-operation zone in Hai Phong, said, “Viet Nam has become an attractive investment destination for many international investors.”

Nguyen Thi Huyen Ngoc, deputy manager of the Investment Promotion Centre in the south, said China is the seventh biggest investor in Viet Nam.

Chinese firms have invested mainly in manufacturing (66 per cent), production and distribution of power, gas and water (16 per cent), real estate (5.5 per cent), and hospitality (4.2 per cent), she said.

She said Chinese businesses could find a lot of investment opportunities in Viet Nam in areas such as value-added projects, hi-tech and environment-friendly projects, large-scale projects, IT, and bio-technology serving agriculture. — VNS