Two countries capitalizing on their complementary industrial structures

Economic and trade ties between China and Vietnam will be bolstered further as they capitalize on their complementary industrial structures and collaborative frameworks, ushering in new growth points for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the Belt and Road Initiative, officials and business leaders said.

Growing trade between the two countries, advantageous tariff rates resulting from free trade agreements, enhanced international capacity cooperation and surging Chinese corporate investment in Vietnam are creating many more opportunities, they said.

Amid a global economic slowdown and weakening demand for goods in numerous countries, the RCEP free trade pact is positioned to emerge as a pivotal catalyst for growth in China and Vietnam, said Zhang Jianping, director of the China Center for Regional Economic Cooperation at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.

Xu Ningning, chairman of the RCEP Industry Cooperation Committee, said the Chinese and Vietnamese economies are highly complementary, adding that free trade deals Vietnam has signed with a number of countries and regions, including the United Kingdom and the European Union, give Chinese businesses operating there an opportunity to explore broader international markets.

Ministry of Commerce spokeswoman Shu Jueting said China has been Vietnam's largest trading partner for several years, and Vietnam is China's biggest trading partner among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and fourth-largest globally. In the first 11 months of this year, bilateral trade grew by 3.6 percent year-on-year to 1.45 trillion yuan ($202.07 billion), accounting for 25 percent of China's trade with ASEAN members, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

In addition to many intermediate goods, including industrial parts, chemical materials, yarns, wires and cables, and electronic components for computers and smartphones, China also ships machinery, household appliances, trains, passenger vehicles, construction machinery, steel and fuel to Vietnam.

Vietnamese exports to China include garments and textile products, footwear, toys, computers, electronic products, cameras, camcorders, rubber, timber and wood products, aquatic products, rice, fruits and vegetables, government data showed.

At the 12th meeting of the China-Vietnam Economic and Trade Cooperation Committee in Hanoi in late November, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said China will continue to take measures to promote unimpeded trade with Vietnam, support bilateral cooperation in railway, 5G and other infrastructure projects, and expedite investment cooperation in the digital economy and green development.

China will ensure high-quality implementation of the RCEP and accelerate the development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0, he added.

Vietnamese Industry and Trade Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said Vietnam regards China as a key economic and trading partner and is keen to deepen tangible cooperation in trade and investment, and, under regional and multilateral frameworks, promote bilateral and regional trade and investment liberalization and facilitation.

He said Vietnam supports China's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and hopes to further expand exports of high-quality agricultural products and industrial products to China.

Closer business ties between China and Vietnam saw FedEx Express, the United States-based express courier service provider, launch a cargo flight service between Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Guangzhou, the capital of South China's Guangdong province, on Nov 1, facilitating swift connections between Vietnam and markets in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

Eddy Chan, vice-president of FedEx Express and president of FedEx China, said China and Vietnam are growing and diversifying their cooperation in manufacturing, driving higher-value regional economic integration.

Eager to enhance its supply chain capability abroad, Zhejiang Xinao Textiles Inc, a Chinese textile company based in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, is building a textile dyeing and finishing plant in Vietnam's Tay Ninh province, with a total investment of $153 million.