Vietnam, China eye wide-ranging cooperation in critical minerals

Vietnam and China will study ways to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the field of critical minerals, ensuring security of energy production and supply chains.

The cooperation will be based on “market principles and the spirit of substance and sustainability,” the two sides said in a joint statement issued at the end of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s 28-hour visit to Hanoi.

Among 36 cooperation documents signed during Xi’s stay, there were no deals on minerals or rare earths.

Vietnam is estimated to have the world’s second largest rare earth deposits with 22 million tons, only behind China, according to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data.

Last month, a delegation from state-owned China Rare Earth Group Co. met in Hanoi with Nguyen Hoang Anh, chairman of the Commission for Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC), to discuss cooperation possibilities in the rare earth industry with Vietnam's mining giant Vinacomin.

Prof. Nguyen Mai, chairman of Vietnam's Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE), said at a forum organized by The Investor last month that dozens of foreign firms were keen on mining rare earth minerals in Vietnam.

The output of rare earths and tungsten can give Vietnam leverage with large partners such as the U.S, EU, South Korea, and Japan, Mai added.

Boosting trade, investment ties

Both countries agreed to intensify investment cooperation in agriculture, infrastructure, energy, digital economy and green development.

Mainland China has been among the five largest investors in Vietnam for years. Investment from the world’s second-biggest economy reached $3.97 billion in 11 months through November this year, ranking it fourth among 110 countries and territories investing in the country.

Leaders of both countries have also agreed to effectively deploy an economic-trade cooperation zone, the joint statement said, without elaborating.

They will step up the exchange of experiences in reforming state-owned enterprises and managing state capital in enterprises.

The Chinese government pledged to open its market wider to Vietnamese agricultural products including fresh coconuts, frozen fruit products, citrus fruits, avocados, custard apples, rose-apples, medicinal herbs, buffalo meat, beef, pork and poultry meat.

Vietnam will promote the import of Chinese sturgeon.

The two sides have agreed to apply effective measures to ensure smooth commodity supply chains serving production and consumption.

In the financial and monetary sectors, the two countries will increase exchanges and cooperation between their central banks as well as between their financial supervisory and management agencies.