Vietnam, China agree to increase cooperation

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung receives Chinese President Xi Jinping (left)

During his visit, Xi Jinping held talks with Vietnam Communist Party Leader Nguyen Phu Trong and Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang. He met Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and delivered a speech in front of Vietnam’s National Assembly. The leaders of the two countries made a joint statement underlining their consensus on measures to maintain and promote bilateral cooperation in the new period.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung requested the two sides to boost practical cooperation in a variety of fields, increase the role of the Steering Committee for Vietnam-China Bilateral Cooperation, promote sustainable growth of bilateral trade, reduce Vietnam’s deficit in trade with China, increase trade via official channels, and effectively manage cross-border trade.

Looking towards US$100 billion bilateral trade target

Since 2004, China has been one of Vietnam’s largest trading partners. Trade between the two countries has continuously grown. In the first nine months of this year, bilateral trade reached US$49.16 billion, up 16 percent compared with the same period last year. By September 2015, China had 1,177 investment projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of more than US$8.4 billion, ranking ninth among 105 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung requested China to create more favorable conditions for Vietnam to export more goods to China, especially agricultural, forest, and seafood products, and open new trade promotion offices in China. He hailed the Chinese government’s agreement to provide a US$300 million soft loan for the Mong Cai-Van Don highway project and another concessional loan for the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway project.

Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed that the two sides should promote practical cooperation in a variety of fields. He said Vietnam and China would work together to overcome difficulties and ensure the effectiveness of major cooperation projects such as the Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Plant, and the Ninh Binh Nitrogenous Fertilizer Plant; increase cross-border cooperation; actively deal with bilateral trade imbalance; and boost the liberalization of bilateral trade and investment.

Leaders of the two countries agreed to do further research for signing another five-year plan for Vietnam-China economic and trade cooperation development in an effort to raise bilateral trade to US$100 billion by 2017; increase cooperation in the framework of the memorandum of understanding on cooperation in trade in agricultural products; encourage Vietnamese and Chinese departments and localities to establish trade promotion agencies in each other’s countries.

The two sides signed many important cooperation agreements and expressed their belief that bilateral relations would further develop and strengthen, bringing benefits to the people of both countries.

Nguyen Huong