Cooperation in economy, trade, agriculture and logistics between Vietnam and China was highlighted at a seminar in Chengdu, the capital city of China’s Sichuan province, on June 13.

 

The event, hosted by the Vietnamese Embassy in China in coordination with Sichuan’s authorities, brought together representatives of nearly 200 businesses along with government officials from the two countries. 

 

In his opening remarks, Vietnamese Ambassador Dang Minh Khoi affirmed that China is one of Vietnam’s most important trade and investment partners with bilateral trade reaching 147.8 billion USD in 2018, up 21.2 percent year-on-year. 

 

He emphasized opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises and localities in Chengdu - a big economic, financial, technological and cultural centre in western China with a population of nearly 91 million, gross domestic product (GDP) at 600 billion USD and a growth rate of 8 percent in 2018.  

 

Chengdu is the gateway to China’s western region, he said, urging Sichuan province and Vietnam to further promote their bridging role in cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and better optimise opportunities generated by the upgrading of the ASEAN-China free trade agreement. 

 

Sichuan’s Vice Governor Li Yunze spoke highly of the cooperation outcomes across spheres, especially economy, trade and agriculture between Vietnam and China in general, and Vietnam and Sichuan province in particular. 

 

He expressed hope for enhanced exchanges and result-oriented collaboration with Vietnamese localities in education, culture, health care and tourism.

 

Vietnam and Sichuan should expand their trade ties and promote their cooperation in logistics, towards forming inter-regional logistics chains, he said. 

 

Li Yunze pledged to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms to operate in Sichuan, and encourage high-quality businesses from Sichuan to invest in Vietnam. 

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh introduced Vietnam’s advantages and potential for high-quality agricultural production, saying the country’s agro-forestry-fishery products have been exported to over 180 markets worldwide. 

 

China is one of the major and traditional importers of Vietnamese farm produce, he said, noting that to increase the export of agro-forestry-fishery products to China, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has instructed competent agencies and localities to focus on measures to meet quality and food safety requirements of the Chinese market. 

 

Following the seminar, the delegation of the MARD, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam’s northern mountainous province of Thai Nguyen and Vietnamese businesses visited some economic, commercial, agricultural and logistics facilities in Sichuan.-VNA