Vietnam-China bilateral trade crosses $100 billion mark

China-Vietnam trade turnover reached nearly $104 billion in the first eight months of the year, according to Vietnam’s General Statistics Office.

Vietnam's export turnover to China was $35.8 billion while it imported $68.1 billion worth of Chinese goods.

Currently, China is an important market for many key export items, such as phones and components; computers, electronic products and components; machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts; vegetables and fruits; and wood.

Exports of all kinds of phones and their components were $16.3 billion last year; followed by $11.9 billion for computers, electronic items and components; $3.8 billion for cameras and camcorders; and $3.7 billion for other machinery, equipment, tools and replacement parts.

China is also the largest consumer of Vietnam's vegetables and fruits, accounting for nearly 65% of its export turnover of these items.

According to the General Department of Customs, in the first seven months of 2023, the export value of fruits and vegetables reached $3.1 billion, an increase of 60.5% over the same period in 2022.

VinaFruit general secretary Dang Phuc Nguyen told The Investor that in July 2022, Vietnam signed an important protocol on exporting durians to China, opening a big door for exporting this fruit to the neighboring country.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, fruit export turnover increased strongly. On January 8, 2023, China opened its borders wider, removing Covid-19 restrictions, and shipments of fruit and vegetable across the border began to accelerate.

Nguyen said that Vietnam’s proximity to China made for less shipping time, which was a great advantage.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has said that by 2025, Vietnam will have an expressway running from the north to the south of the country, further facilitating cross-border trade with China.

Good infrastructure will create favorable conditions for more vegetables and fruits to be exported to China, he said.

Mekong Delta provinces produce about 60% of Vietnam's fruits. With a good transportation system from there to the border, exports to China can be boosted.

Durian export turnover in the first six months exceeded the whole of last year. It could have gone past $1 billion in the first seven months. By the end of this year, durian export turnover can reach $1.5 billion or more, said Vinafruit’s Nguyen.

China accounts for nearly one-third of Vietnam’s total pangasius exports.

In order to boost exports to China, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed that enterprises, particularly those manufacturing and exporting agricultural products and foodstuff, prioritize research of the target market to ascertain the market’s actual requirements.

There is enormous potential for further boosting two-way trade between Vietnam and China in the next few years, experts have said. They have noted that the market capacity is huge, with China's need for Vietnamese goods to serve its billion-person population increasing, while Vietnam requires raw materials from China to support key manufacturing sectors.

Two-way trade is also supported by a number of free trade agreements that have taken effect, such as the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Vietnam-China export turnover totaled $175.6 billion in 2022, with Vietnam’s exports and imports totaling $57.7 billion and $117.9 billion, respectively.