Addressing a business matching conference in Hanoi, Director of the MoIT’s Trade Promotion Agency Vu Ba Phu said China has been the biggest trading partner of Vietnam for more than 20 straight years. Meanwhile, Vietnam ranked first in ASEAN and seventh in the world among trading partners of China in 2023.
In cooperation with China, the MoIT attaches great importance to Shandong, a leading province in economic development in China. Last year, Shandong posted 10.9 billion USD in trade turnover with Vietnam, ranking eighth among the Chinese localities having trade relation with the Southeast Asian nation and accounting for some 4.8% of the two countries’ total trade, he noted.
To better tap into the two sides’ potential and demand, Phu suggested the administration of Shandong create optimal conditions for enterprises to engage in more business matching and trade promotion events in order to promote investment and trade in high-quality and strong products of each side, including fruit, aquatic and agricultural products, processed food, beverages, and apparel of Vietnam and machinery, electronic devices, and chemical products of Shandong.
He called for support from enterprises to strengthen investment ties and share experience in developing agricultural processing, textile - garment, new energy, electric vehicle, mechanics, and electronics industries that Shandong is strong at to help Vietnamese firms improve capacity.
The official also asked Shandong authorities to provide favourable conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to advertise and establish their brands in China, especially at major distribution systems in the province.
The MoIT is ready to coordinate with authorities of China and Shandong to help businesses carry out cooperation activities, Phu stated, pledging support to be delivered in line with Vietnamese law and international practices for Chinese firms to operate effectively and sustainably in Vietnam.
For his part, Vice Governor of the Shandong provincial People’s Government Song Junji said as Vietnam and China are important economic and trading partners and their industries are complementary, cooperation potential is considerable. Promoting economic and trade cooperation is crucial for the intensification of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.
He noted Shandong, a province with a large population and large-scale economy in the north of China, and Vietnam have frequently worked together on economic, trade, and agricultural affairs. In June 2023, the Shandong administration organised a delegation of over 100 enterprises to Vietnam to negotiate and seek partners. Less than one year later, it sent another large economic and trade delegation to Vietnam and coordinated with the MoIT to hold the trade promotion conference.
This reflects Shandong’s determination to foster results-oriented cooperation with Vietnam and create opportunities for enterprises to boost exchanges and partnerships, Song remarked.
