VN-China trade hits nearly $100 billion

VIETNAM, July 2 - HÀ NỘI — Bilateral trade between Việt Nam and China is reaching the threshold of US$100 billion, for the first six months of this year.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the bilateral trade between the two countries is recovering impressively despite on-ging global economic difficulties and geopolitical conflicts.

China remains the largest trade partner, the largest import market and the second largest export market to Việt Nam in the world.

Updates from the General Statistics Office showed that Việt Nam’s export to China reached $27.8 billion in the first half of this year, up 5.3 per cent over the same period last year. Việt Nam imported goods from China worth $67 billion in the reviewed period, up 34.7 per cent.

Việt Nam ran a trade deficit worth $39.2 billion with China in the period, up 67.9 per cent.

There is significant potential to promote trade between the two countries with a number of trade deals such as ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

China is also applying to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The Việt Nam’s Trade Office in Beijing said that the Chinese economy is recovering positively. The Chinese Government is also issuing policies on import-export management which will create favourable conditions for exports into this market if products meet quality standards.

The trade office pointed out that Việt Nam has plenty of opportunities to increase exports to China. Chinese enterprises are showing interests in buying manufacturing and processing and agricultural products, especially fruits from Việt Nam such as durians, watermelons and bananas.

To date, a dozen agricultural products are exported officially to China, with negotiations being completed for the official export of fresh coconuts and frozen durians. — VNS