Linked by mountains and rivers, China and Vietnam are close economic and trade partners with strong economic complementarities. In recent years, Sino-Vietnamese economic and trade cooperation has been growing steadily like sesame seeds. Under the background of the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic on the regional and even global industrial and supply chains, the bilateral trade volume between China and Vietnam has achieved contrarian growth.

Neighbors are getting closer and closer. From October 30 to November 1, 2022, Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, will pay an official visit to China, and the "Joint Statement on Further Strengthening and Deepening the China-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership" Officially released, China and Vietnam have a new cooperation force in economic and trade cooperation, and the economic and trade cooperation between the two sides will get better and better in the future.

Bilateral trade volume soars

Vietnam is located in the center of Southeast Asia, and has a long coastline, and the location conditions for international economic and trade are relatively good. At the same time, the objective conditions of sea, land and air have created a favorable foundation for economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and various countries. However, China and Vietnam are connected by sea and land, and trade exchanges are becoming more and more frequent. The economic and trade cooperation between the two sides has maintained a good momentum for a long time.

Bilateral trade volume between China and Vietnam has grown by leaps and bounds

The rapid growth of bilateral trade volume is an obvious trend of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries in recent years. Since 2016, Vietnam has become China's largest trading partner in ASEAN, and now China is also Vietnam's largest trading partner, largest import market and second largest export market. It can be seen that Vietnam's foreign trade development is inseparable from China.

Even under the adverse impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the bilateral trade volume between China and Vietnam has not declined but increased. In 2020, the bilateral trade volume between China and Vietnam will be US$192.29 billion. In 2021, it will exceed US$200 billion for the first time, reaching US$230.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 19.72%. The trade volume between the two countries has achieved nearly 20% growth, which is the biggest highlight of the bilateral trade relationship between the two countries in the past year, and also reflects the stability and efficiency of the bilateral trade between the two countries in recent years.

At the same time, according to the 2021 data released by China Customs, China is Vietnam's largest supplier of intermediate products, accounting for 41.5% of Vietnam's total imports. Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Xiong Bo said that about 54% of Vietnam's machinery equipment and parts, 52% of textile and leather raw materials, and 40% of mobile phones and parts come from China.

Vietnam Pavilion at the 19th China-ASEAN Expo

In addition, taking the express train of China-ASEAN Expo and the entry into force of RCEP of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, the exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and Vietnamese enterprises have reached a higher level. At the 19th China-ASEAN Expo, Vietnam participated in the largest exhibition among ASEAN countries, and it was the first time to book a pavilion after the epidemic, with an exhibition area of over 2,000 square meters. "The China-ASEAN Expo has effectively promoted the development of enterprises in China. We have more than 300 distributors in China, and China's first coffee flagship store opened in Shanghai in September." said Le Wuqiang from Vietnam Zhongyuan Group. Eleven kinds of fruits, including Vietnamese durian, will also be allowed to enter the Chinese market in 2022. They are widely welcomed by Chinese consumers and bring tangible benefits to Vietnamese farmers.

Steady progress in bilateral investment

With its superior geographical location and favorable investment policies, Vietnam has become a hot spot for investment. In recent years, the investment of Chinese enterprises in Vietnam has continued to increase, and the business scope and scale have continued to expand.

With the strong promotion of the governments of the two countries, many important projects have been implemented and made positive contributions to the economies of the two countries. As of June 2022, China has invested in 3,372 projects in Vietnam, with a total investment of US$22.31 billion. China ranks sixth among the 139 countries and regions investing in Vietnam. Investment is mainly concentrated in processing and manufacturing industries, especially electronics, mobile phones, computers, textiles and clothing, machinery and equipment, etc., which are distributed in Vietnam's border provinces, coastal areas and densely populated cities, absorbing a large number of local labor forces and having good infrastructure , Conducive to the import and export of goods and personnel exchanges between the two countries.

In addition, with China's Belt and Road Initiative and Vietnam's two-corridor and one-circle development strategy accelerating docking, and China-Vietnam production capacity cooperation, cross-border economic cooperation zones and in-depth development of infrastructure interoperability, China and Vietnam have stepped up cooperation on key projects.

In Yongxin Township, Suifeng County, Binh Thuan Province, Vietnam, there stands a power project jointly invested and constructed by China and Vietnam - Vietnam Yongxin Coal-fired Power Plant Phase I BOT Project, which is the first BOT power investment project of a Chinese company in Vietnam. In Hanoi, Vietnam, a train is speeding past Hanoi Light Rail Line 2 with the autumn morning light. This is the first urban light rail in Vietnam, Hanoi Ji Ling, which will be opened and operated by a Chinese company in January 2022. The Hadong Line light rail has become another landmark project of the China-Vietnam joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, and it has also brought the motorcycle kingdom into a new era of green travel.

The China-Vietnam train has become a through train for China-Vietnam economic and trade exchanges

At the Nanning International Railway Port, a China-Vietnam train full of daily necessities such as coated paper, suitcases, and paper bowls is slowly leaving for the Vietnamese security station. In fact, the China-Vietnam train has already become a through train for economic and trade exchanges between the two countries. According to data from the China Railway Nanning Bureau, from January to October 2022, a total of 238 China-Vietnam trains will be operated, of which 152 will be operated on the outbound journey, a year-on-year increase of 10.9%. At present, the railway express mode has achieved cross-regional two-way connection, and the transportation time of the China-Vietnam train from Nanning to Hanoi, Vietnam has basically achieved one-day delivery.

New directions for future economic and trade cooperation

The series of economic and trade achievements between China and Vietnam are the result of the close cooperation between China and Vietnam and the stable and long-term economic and trade relations between the two countries. Now, in the late autumn, red leaves are in full bloom in the northern country, and a new round of economic and trade exchanges between China and Vietnam has kicked off.

From October 30th to November 1st, 2022, with the official visit of Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, to China, the "Joint Statement on Further Strengthening and Deepening China-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership" was officially released, providing goods for the two countries Many fields such as import and export, economic and trade investment, and industrial chain supply chain stability have pointed out new development directions.

Regarding the future, the "Sino-Vietnamese Joint Statement" mentioned that Vietnam is willing to create convenient conditions for the two countries to strengthen economic, trade and investment cooperation, and China encourages qualified Chinese enterprises to invest in Vietnam in accordance with the principles of marketization and commercialization.

Xu Liping, a researcher at the Institute of Asia-Pacific and Global Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and director of the Southeast Asia Research Center, pointed out that Vietnam needs to import a large amount of intermediate products from China. Therefore, China and Vietnam have a close relationship in supply chain integration and there is still a lot of room for cooperation and development. The "Sino-Vietnamese Joint Statement" also pointed out that the two sides are willing to implement the "Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Supply Chain Security Cooperation between the Ministry of Commerce of China and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam" to promote the security and stability of the industrial and supply chains of the two countries.

It is worth mentioning that, according to the CIEM analysis of the Vietnam Central Institute of Economic Management, Vietnam’s e-commerce market has grown rapidly in recent years, and is expected to increase from US$4 billion in 2015 to US$49 billion in 2025. The "Sino-Vietnamese Joint Statement" also mentioned that China and Vietnam believe that e-commerce is an important area of bilateral economic and trade, continue to implement the "Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening E-commerce Cooperation between the Ministry of Commerce of China and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam", and play the role of the e-commerce cooperation working group to strengthen Policy communication and experience sharing, development of cross-border e-commerce, promotion of enterprise cooperation in logistics and other fields, exploration and strengthening of electronic payment cooperation services between banks and transfer clearing institutions of the two countries, and improvement of the ability of small, medium and micro enterprises to use e-commerce to expand trade and investment channels . China will continue to promote consumption through e-commerce and expand the sales of Vietnamese high-quality specialty products in China.

In addition, the special e-commerce chapter under the RCEP framework also provides new opportunities for China and Vietnam. Both countries have strong market demand in e-commerce, overseas warehouse construction, and cross-border payment. In this regard, the two countries will release huge space for cooperation in the fields of digital economy, green economy and digital trade in the future, and the prospects are promising.

Against the background of the fragile recovery of the global economy, China-Vietnam economic and trade cooperation is still thriving, which fully demonstrates that the two economies are highly complementary. Along the way, the two countries have continuously demonstrated the resilience and potential of economic and trade cooperation. With many opportunities now, the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries will step up in the future and work together to create a new win-win era. Editor/He Yuting