Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung at the event (Source: VNA)
A seminar on economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Guangdong-Hong Kong (China) took place in Hanoi on July 19, attracting senior officials from 14 Vietnamese cities and provinces and nearly 200 businesses from both sides.
Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung said China has been Vietnam’s largest trade partner over the past 13 consecutive years. Two-way trade hit 72 billion USD last year, or one fifth of Vietnam’s total exports.
Last year, China was among top 10 foreign investors in Vietnam, ranking eighth with a total registered capital of 10.5 billion USD.
Two-way trade between Vietnam and Guangdong and Hong Kong reached 17 billion USD and 6.09 billion USD, respectively. As of March 2017, Hong Kong was the sixth foreign investor in Vietnam with a total registered capital of 17 billion USD.
Trung said with optimism that bilateral ties will keep thriving, given that the Vietnamese economy has maintained a growth of over 6 percent despite the global economic and financial crisis.
According to the Deputy FM, Vietnam is gradually becoming an important link in the global value chain, particularly in the fields of electronics, garment, agriculture and fisheries. Meanwhile, Hong Kong is a significant gateway for Vietnamese goods to enter the Chinese market.
Almost Vietnamese industries and sectors are strongly developing, from transport infrastructure, urban planning and development, energy, high-tech agriculture, machinery engineering to support industry.
The Vietnamese government is determined to further step up reform and global integration.
Commercial and Economic Counsellor at the Chinese embassy Hu Suo Jin hailed Guangdong’s high gross domestic product over the past 28 years and described Hong Kong as a major financial, trade and transportation centre of China.
He said the Chinese embassy will continue serving as a bridge connecting the two countries’ businesses in the near future.
A senior official from Guangdong province said Vietnam’s farm produce such as rice and fruits are popular in Guangdong while consumer goods such as footwear, apparel and electronics have also attracted Vietnamese consumers. Last year, Guangdong poured over 207 million USD into Vietnam.
He added that the provincial authorities support An Duong industrial zone in Hai Phong, hoping that it will become a model industrial zone.
At the event, participating firms learned about business opportunities and market demand in each side.
VNA
